The State College Chamber of Commerce and Penn State University's College of Arts and Architecture founded the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts (CPFA) as a nonprofit in 1966 to celebrate creativity with presentations of diverse, high-quality visual and performing arts. Over the years, the CPFA has become one of the top-ranked juried art fairs in the country, the highlight of the State College summer, one of the biggest non-football alumni weekends for Penn Staters, the summer’s economic anchor for downtown State College businesses, and the place to be for art, music, and fun the week after Independence Day. With three full-time professional staff members and more than 600 volunteers that help make the Festival a reality each year, the Arts Festival is an enduring tradition, experienced with friends and family, and an event not to be missed for many of the 125,000+ visitors each year. This fund was created by CPFA as part of Centre Foundation's 40 for 40 campaign and provides support for one of the area's largest and most cherished events of the year.