Increasing visibility, visitation and business opportunities

By David Rockower

The Happy Valley Women’s Cycling group is led by founder and president, Tanya Campbell. Photo: Happy Valley Women’s Cycling.

Even for life-long Happy Valley residents, it’s easy to miss just how much our area has to offer. Many of us remain tucked away at home, planning the occasional vacation to get out of town. But what are we missing right here? What opportunities and experiences haven’t we tried? Whether it’s hiking, biking, kayaking, visiting museums, perusing arts festivals or attending a concert, the offerings are abundant. These same opportunities draw visitors to the area, and it’s The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau (HVAB) that strives to increase visitation and build a sense of community in Centre County.

Fritz Smith, president and CEO at HVAB understands that Penn State is a driving force for visitation in Centre County. However, he also wants visitors to know that the region is much more than a university town and, to support visitation for reasons beyond Penn State, the HVAB offers its grant program, benefiting events, business and attractions ranging from Happy Valley Comic-Con to The Rothrock Gravel Grit Grinder, The Bellefonte Art Museum to The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Grants are typically given to support marketing efforts geared toward bringing people to the area or to help with physical enhancements to facilities like The Bellefonte Art Museum or the Centre County Historical Society. In the current grant year alone, HVAB has awarded $688,000 in partnership with Centre County Commissioners.

“These funds are really geared for trying to help those organizations expand their reach, expand their marketing radius and try to attract people from further out. If somebody's going to come to an event from Philadelphia, New York or Cleveland, chances are pretty good they're going to stay the night. When they stay the night, they're going to eat breakfast somewhere, they're going to buy gas on the way out of town, and so it's just a virtuous cycle that creates a lot of economic impact.”

“There’s an online application process that begins in February and closes on April 14. From there, a grant review committee will analyze them, make recommendations and take them to the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau Board and we'll vote on them one by one,” explained Smith.

He added, “These funds are really geared for trying to help those organizations expand their reach, expand their marketing radius and try to attract people from further out. If somebody's going to come to an event from Philadelphia, New York or Cleveland, chances are pretty good they're going to stay the night. When they stay the night, they're going to eat breakfast somewhere, they're going to buy gas on the way out of town, and so it's just a virtuous cycle that creates a lot of economic impact.”

Helping Centre County bounce back from Covid-19

The amount of grant money that HVAB awarded each year had been fairly consistent — until the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When people stopped traveling for Covid-19, that really put the brakes on the amount we were able to give out,” said Smith.

But, he added that many people relocated to the area after they were given the ability to work remotely and, since 2020, the business of leisure travel has bounced back. He said,  “Mom and Dad getting in the car with their kids for a getaway weekend — that market has recovered completely.”

“I’ve pretty much traveled everywhere [for racing], and I know what we have here is really a gem; it’s pretty special."

There are other segments that have been slower to return, though.

“Motorcoach group tours and business meetings have been slow to come back. A lot of the business meetings that helped fill up hotels during the middle of the week were very slow to come back. I feel like that market is probably about 70% back now. Motorcoach group tours are probably 40% back,” explained Smith.

The Rowland Theatre is one of 60 grant recipients awarded by The Happy Valley Advenure Bureau in its current grant year. Photo: The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau.

Getting outside and exploring Centre County’s hidden gems

Tanya Campbell is the president and creator of Happy Valley Women’s Cycling. Campbell has worked tirelessly to build a strong community of female cyclists in the region and she created The Seasons Of Rothrock Race Series — two mountain bike races and two gravel races — that take place in April, June, September and December. The popular Rothrock Grit Gravel Grinder, which started in 2020 with just over 300 riders, had over 500 riders in 2022.

Campbell sought HVAB grant support in order to show riders how lucky Happy Valley residents are to have a forest like Rothrock in the backyard.

“I’ve pretty much traveled everywhere [for racing], and I know what we have here is really a gem; it’s pretty special,” said Campbell.

Another reason for seeking grant support was Campbell’s desire to increase female ridership in these events. “One of our biggest challenges was going to be able to fill half of the race participant list with women. It’s pretty typical for only 10% of the race to be women at any given cycling event. So to get up to 50% was going to be pretty hard, and we needed some help from outside influences,” said Campbell.

The grants received from HVAB have helped to grow the events by adding photographers, videographers and marketing specialists. In addition to helping support the races, the grants have allowed Happy Valley Women’s Cycling to donate $44,000 to local nonprofits.

“One of our biggest challenges was going to be able to fill half of the race participant list with women. It’s pretty typical for only 10% of the race to be women at any given cycling event. So to get up to 50% was going to be pretty hard, and we needed some help from outside influences."

“The more help that we can get from outside people, whether it be the HVAB or sponsorship, the more that we're able to give back to the community,” said Campbell.

Enhancing art exhibitions

Housed in a historic property in Bellefonte, the Bellefonte Art Museum showcases seven galleries, featuring art from our region and beyond. The museum includes a unique display window allowing visitors to view art from outside the building. Lori Fisher, deputy director of the museum, explained that the HVAB’s grants have helped increase visitation and membership.

“We have seen a growth in our visitor attendance and our membership because of this funding. As we continue to grow and develop exhibitions and programming, we rely on the HVAB's support to promote tourism, which opens the museum to communities even beyond Centre County,” said Fisher.

The museum also received its first Resource Improvement Grant this past year. The grant allowed the museum to enhance its permanent Underground Railroad Exhibition, "A Journey to Freedom."

“This funding allowed us the opportunity to add an additional webpage to our existing website, develop an Underground Railroad creative activity for visitors, research and develop curriculum for students and families and print takeaway material for further learning about the Underground Railroad,” explained Fisher.

From 2015-2022, The Bellefonte Art Museum has received grants to help with marketing and the enhancement of a permanent Underground Railroad exhibition. Photo: The Bellefonte Art Museum.

Looking ahead…

Looking ahead to the future, Smith and his team hope to increase its financial support of Happy Valley initiatives.

“I think probably the high watermark was around $750,000 three years ago. I anticipate that, as we recover and pull our way out of Covid-19 — which I think we have now — we'll be back on track for getting back to that $750,000. I told the county commissioners I want this to hit a million in grants within a couple of years and I think we're going to get there.”

Turning travelers into full-time residents

But for some travelers who visit Happy Valley and fall in love with its charms, the occasional weekend trip isn’t enough. Talk to locals long enough and you’ll soon discover that Happy Valley is a region that attracts hordes of transplants, flocking to the area for its mixture of big-city amenities and a small-town vibe, ample outdoor recreation and business opportunities.

Are you one of those full-time resident hopefuls (or do you know someone who is)? Here are even more reasons why you should consider a move to Happy Valley.

Outdoor recreation added nearly $14 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy in 2021; here’s what that means for Happy Valley

By Cara Aungst

Nathan Reigner is Pennsylvania’s first director of outdoor recreation. Photo: Provided.

In November, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced that outdoor recreation contributed $13.64 billion to Pennsylvania’s economy, accounting for 152,000 jobs, and 1.6% of the Commonwealth’s gross domestic product.

It reported that Pennsylvania has the sixth-largest outdoor recreation economy in the nation — one that’s supported by a combination of exceptional recreational assets; generally diversified economy; and strong retail, manufacturing and tourism sectors.

Outdoor recreation is for everyone, and you don’t need expensive gear to do it. …  Just get outside — the world will open up, and your life will be better than you could have imagined.

“Outdoor recreation continues to be a thriving and significant industry within the Commonwealth and this data helps us better understand what we are doing well, while also providing guidance on where we can grow this industry for its own sake and to improve the lives of Pennsylvanians,” Pennsylvania Director of Outdoor Recreation Nathan Reigner said. “Unlike economic development through other industries, development through outdoor recreation also stimulates physical health, mental well-being, social cohesion and environmental sustainability.”

We reached out to Reigner, who was an assistant research professor in the College of Human Development at Penn State before becoming the first-ever director of outdoor recreation for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We wanted to know how Happy Valley fits into this news, and where the region has opportunities to grow. As it turns out, we got a lot more than that, including a personal mission statement about the transformative power of outdoor recreation, a look into what’s driving those booming numbers and the “world’s best biking day.”

We read a recent article where you had a great quote about outdoor recreation as a way to increase livability. You said, “Quality of life is going to be the driver of development and vitality in small and medium-sized rural and industrial Pennsylvania towns, and quality of life is a product of outdoor recreation, historic preservation of our downtowns and the availability of cultural services, which are breweries, interesting restaurants, art and music festivals.” How does this directly impact the Happy Valley area?

Reigner: Happy Valley is already doing this. It’s already out in front. The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau has doubled down on outdoor recreation and particularly adventure recreation. Clearwater Conservancy’s partnership with Centred Outdoors is a good example of outdoor recreation that drives public health and community health goals.

Centre County is competing for specialized employees, and access to high-quality outdoor recreation is a great way to attract talent. There’s mountain biking, paddling, climbing and fishing, and so much more. When I think of regions that are leaders and models in the state, Happy Valley is at the top of the list.

How is outdoor recreation a driver in Happy Valley, and how can we do better?

Reigner: There really are only a few gaps in the outdoor recreation business ecosystem that I can see. One of them is bike rentals. Lots of people come into Happy Valley without bikes, but cycling is one of the great ways to transport around the area. A rental business can be hard to operate — there’s capital expense and staff time, and it’s seasonal — but that’s one way to fill a gap on the business side of things.

Another opportunity could be to develop pipelines to get visitors to explore trails as part of their visit, for example on Sunday after a home game. It could connect travelers with outdoor assets like the Arboretum, [or] the valley-to-mountain project at Musser Gap. There are so many things to explore in the area.

Dr. Reigner was an assistant research professor in the College of Human Development at Penn State before becoming the first-ever director of outdoor recreation. Photo: Provided.

In December, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources reported that the $13.6 billion that outdoor recreation added to the Commonwealth’s GDP is up 22% from 2020 and the increase of 2,000 full-time equivalent jobs is up 4% from 2020. What’s the reason for this increase?

Reigner: The dramatic increase is largely the result of economic emergence from the pandemic. That’s the primary driver there. I think it’s important to remember even before the pandemic — 10 years before — we were collectively concerned that we were loving our parks to death. Visitation was rising year after year. Forces like Instagram, low-cost air travel, experience-hungry generations and the diversification of outdoor equipment were all driving an increase.

Emerging from Covid-19 was more of a burst on top of a long-term trend of growth. I think it’s going to increase steadily into the future, but these dramatic swings were temporary effects that stemmed from extraordinary circumstances. I think that we’ll be seeing recovery to the long-term growth trend that we have seen in the past and expect again in the future.

I believe that when we engage and purposefully try to have these experiences in the natural environment, we are shaping our understanding of the world, our relationship to nature and others with the power and meaning of those experiences.

What’s your WHY? What led you to take on this pioneering role, and what’s your vision for what’s next for Pennsylvania, for outdoor recreation and for yourself?

Reigner: I have a mission statement that speaks to that: I believe that recreation experiences are powerful and meaningful. I’ve felt it in my own life. I believe that when we engage and purposefully try to have these experiences in the natural environment, we are shaping our understanding of the world, our relationship to nature and others with the power and meaning of those experiences. The more of us who have those experiences, the better we are as individuals and as a society.

The more pressure that we place on special places to have these experiences, the more difficult it is to deliver [the] health, economic, social and cultural benefits of them. That’s because there are real administrative and environmental constraints. But with innovative, integrated management, we can provide more experiences that are powerful and meaningful. We can help people be better and we can help society be better. So my mission is to flex constraints outward, get more people having more experiences and better our lives.

Reigner says that outdoor recreation is an industry with benefits: “Unlike economic development through other industries, development through outdoor recreation also stimulates physical health, mental well-being, social cohesion and environmental sustainability.” Photo: Provided.

You have a deep history with Happy Valley. What are some of the outdoor recreation things you like best about the area?

Reigner: Cycling is my home sport. My favorite thing in the world to do is to drive to Millheim, and park at the fire company carnival grounds. I’ll bike through Bald Eagle State Forest, come back through Poe Paddy and Coburn, and then go back to Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks when they have outdoor live music. It’s one of the best days I’ll ever have.

When I think of regions that are leaders and models in the state, Happy Valley is at the top of the list.

Cross-country skiing is another favorite. I like to meet friends at Black Moshannon on a snow day. After work, we’ll go out for a loop on the Allegheny Front Trail. It’s dark, the snow is coming down, and our breath crystalizes in the air. I’m telling you, it’s amazing.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Reigner: Outdoor recreation is for everyone, and you don’t need expensive gear to do it. That’s the big takeaway from this BEA data — participation spiked even as economic activity dropped. You don’t need the fancy stuff! Yes, it keeps you safe and comfortable, but it’s not necessary. If you have a stick and string and a license, you can fish.  If you have sneakers, you can hike!

Everybody can participate in outdoor recreation. Time spent photographing birds can be just as mind-expanding as the most dramatic extreme sports. Just get outside — the world will open up, and your life will be better than you could have imagined.

New brewers add to thriving craft beer scene

By Beverly Molnar

Photo: Antifragile Brewing Co.

When you think of “craft beer towns,” you might think of Asheville, North Carolina, which was first named Beer City USA in 2009, or Burlington, Vermont, which holds the record for the highest  number of breweries per capita. But brewers in Happy Valley aim to change that. Over the past several decades, Happy Valley has steadily been growing its brew scene, from Happy Valley’s longest-operating brew pub, Otto’s Pub, to cult favorite Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks, and a growing list that includes Happy Valley Brewing, Robin Hood Brewing and Axemann Brewery. Meet some of the area’s newest makers, and hear why they chose to set up shop here.

Filling the gap

Antifragile Brewing Co. opened in downtown State College in 2022, with partners John Schaffer and Lisa Harpster at the helm. Both are Penn State alumni and Harpster is a Happy Valley native, and both left the area to pursue careers elsewhere for several years before returning. Before launching Antifragile, Schaffer and Harpster were already entrepreneurs, as the founders of another Happy Valley business, Moody Culture Kombucha.

According to Schaffer, they had “always been into craft beer,” and a lot of the same equipment and similar processes that go into fermenting beer is used in making kombucha. After a beer trip to Burlington, Vermont, in 2017, he said that they realized Happy Valley had “none of that here.” While craft beer is big throughout New England and in nearby Mid-Atlantic cities, like Philadelphia, they recognized a gap in the market in Happy Valley specifically. So, in 2019, they set out to create a destination brewery in downtown State College.

Schaffer found a brewer — Paulo Nami, an exchange student from Brazil — and took over a space previously occupied by a Colombian café. After giving a lot of thought to the business model, not wanting to be just a taproom, but also not wanting to offer extensive food offerings, he and Harpster opened Antifragile Brewing Co. post-pandemic. As for where they got the name, Schaffer said it came from the book “Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

“The book changed the way I think about things,” said Schaffer. “[I] approached the brewery and business in an antifragile way, starting small and pivoting quickly. If that worked well, things would go well.” 

Today, Antifragile attracts a mixture of downtown adults and the local, older community, with Schaffer saying the visitor mix is about 95% local adults and 5% students. The brewing company offers plenty of fresh beers, of course, but also fresh cocktails and live music events. 

Photo: Voodoo Brewing Co.

Where everybody knows your name 

Employee-owned Voodoo Brewing Co. opened a few years before Antifragile, in 2019. Unlike Antifragile, which started local and has stayed local (so far), Voodoo Brewing Co. is a craft beer company based in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and has five locations throughout the state, plus franchises in the state and beyond.

Still, Voodoo boasts State College roots in its own way. The general manager, Wes Day, is a graduate of Penn State and previously worked at other area breweries. He said he had already noticed an untapped market in Happy Valley for destination breweries, and felt that State College could do more to become a destination, “like Asheville, North Carolina, on a smaller scale.” 

The brewery sits beneath Maine Bay & Berry, a foodie-favorite shop and restaurant with a focus on fresh seafood and New England products, and Voodoo has benefited from Maine Bay & Berry’s existing reputation and customer base. At first, CEO Matteo Rachocki said the team anticipated attracting more of the student population, but it didn’t turn out that way. Instead, their shared customer base is predominantly Penn State faculty, alumni and local families. Luckily, this outcome was in line with the brand’s goals. 

“We want to cultivate an environment where everyone feels comfortable hanging out,” commented Rachocki, referencing “Cheers” and the effort to create an environment “where everybody knows your name.” “We want people to appreciate our efforts and support that by consistently coming back.” 

Photo: Voodoo Brewing Co.

For the past three years, Voodoo Brewing Co. has shared awards with Maine Bay & Berry for some of the best area outdoor dining, thanks to its creekside seating, fire pits and a “rustic and reclaimed” aesthetic. 

Is craft beer the future of Happy Valley tourism? 

Happy Valley is known for a lot of things … Will it add “Craft Beer Destination” to the list?