This Week’s Connect Happy Valley eLetter
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Happy New Year, Happy Valley
Students are flooding back into town. Parents are arriving with overloaded SUVs. Downtown is waking up. The sidewalks are filling, traffic patterns are changing and the calendar in Happy Valley is about to turn.
Around here, January 1 is merely a date. The real New Year begins when the students return.
So, Happy New Year, Happy Valley.
Things to Do in Happy Valley: Summer Winds Down as Happy Valley Fills Up
You can already feel Happy Valley filling up again. Traffic is picking up and students are starting to return as Penn State’s fall semester begins on Monday.
At the same time, one of Centre County’s biggest summer traditions gets underway Friday when the Centre County Grange Fair opens for its annual run in Centre Hall.
We’re right in that familiar late-August overlap: summer isn’t quite over, but fall is clearly on its way. There are still outdoor concerts, baseball games, family activities and plenty of reasons to enjoy these last weeks of summer before the pace around town picks up even more.
Here are some of the things happening around Happy Valley.
What Would Make Our Children Choose Happy Valley Again?
I have three sons who grew up in Happy Valley, and all three now live somewhere else. Like a lot of parents around here, I would love to see them come back someday. I have joked about it enough that my sons know exactly where I stand, but underneath my fatherly recruiting campaign is a serious question that has become part of the reason for Connect Happy Valley: What would make the people who grew up here choose Happy Valley again?
Things to Do in Happy Valley: Summer Isn’t Over, but It’s Shifting Gears
There is still plenty of summer left in Happy Valley, but you can feel the shift.
Penn State Summer Commencement takes place this weekend. Ag Progress Days wraps up this week, and the Centre County Grange Fair is just around the corner. Before long, students will be returning and the fall semester will bring its familiar change of pace to State College.
For now, make the most of August, with live music, community events, outdoor movies, baseball, and Penn State sports starting up.
Why People Keep Coming Back to Happy Valley
Some people leave Happy Valley to chase new opportunities. They build careers, raise families, and discover new places along the way. Then something unexpected happens. They realize the place they left behind still feels like home.
We recently sat down with two guests on the Connect Happy Valley podcast whose stories capture that feeling in different ways. Katie Colby and Karen Shelley each found their way back to Happy Valley for different reasons. One came back because she wanted to make a difference in her community. The other returned because she wanted the best possible place to build a life with her family.
Downtown State College Earns a Ten-Year Vote of Confidence
Borough Council reauthorizes the Downtown State College Improvement District through 2036, preserving a long-term commitment to the place where town, gown, residents, businesses and visitors come together.
This Week in Happy Valley: Fair Season and Fall is On the Horizon
With August, it’s fair season in Happy Valley, starting with the Bellefonte Arts & Crafts Fair on Friday and Saturday and Ag Progress Days opening next week.
It is also one of the last quieter stretches before Penn State students return and the fall semester gets underway. Enjoy the slower pace while it lasts, and look forward to the change of pace that comes with a new school year.
Rise Above Ability Recap
With a sold-out crowd of 450 people gathered under one roof to support Rise Above: Friends of Penn State Adaptive Athletics, the evening felt less like a fundraiser and more like a wedding, a celebration of separate lives coming together as one family and a shared future beginning.
