Happy Valley Adventure Bureau to Hold Open House at New Visitor Center in State College

Centre County’s tourism promotion agency is inviting residents, visitors, students and their families to stop by the new visitor center location in downtown State College this week for an informal open house.

The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau will host the open house from 3 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at the new spot for visitor information, 131 S. Fraser St., suite 3 — adjacent to the Fraser Street Parking Garage and the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza

Eric Ian Farmer will kick off the event with a performance at 3 p.m. on the MLK Plaza stage. Light refreshments also will be available.

Holding the open house during Penn State student move-in week will provide an opportunity for students and their families to check out the new visitor center location and learn about things to see and do throughout the region, HVAB President and CEO Fritz Smith said in a release.

HVAB staff will be on hand to answer questions.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to stop by, say hello and learn more about all Happy Valley has to offer leisure, sports and business visitors,” Smith said.

The open house also will coincide with the Downtown State College Improvement District’s weekly Live After 5 music series, which begins at 5:15 p.m. at the MLK Plaza. This week will feature acoustic duo Caryn Dixon and JAOH.

HVAB offices and the Centre County Visitor Center moved from their former home at 800 E. Park Ave., which was leased from Penn State, to the downtown location in May. The decision to move was based on the overall costs of operating the center at a time when revenues are constrained and a determination on how to best allocate resources, an bureau spokesperson said at the time.