Annual Cultural Events

in Bloomsburg, Danville, and Berwick
Our region features some amazing staple events that keep the crowds coming back each and every year. Click on any of the links below to learn about the event and how to get involved.

ArtFest

August 24, 2019

Bloomsburg’s Square

ArtFest returns to its great location, surrounding the fountain on Bloomsburg’s Square!

Dedicated to bringing the arts to all communities throughout our region, The Exchange again presents Columbia County’s biggest one-day outdoor art event of the year.

The twelth annual ArtFest will take place on Saturday, the 24th of August, 2019, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown Bloomsburg. Directly across the Square, surrounding the Civil War monument, the Farmers Market will open at 8 a.m. and stay open into the afternoon.

ArtFest showcases more than 35 regional artists’ original work, accompanied by live music, local food, and activities for the whole family. A summertime art party, ArtFest draws attendees from throughout our region, and it draws artists from near and far as well. Exhibitors include painters, photographers, potters, jewelers, sculptors, glass artists, fabric artists, woodworkers, bonsai growers and more.​

For the complete line-up of vendors, both craft and food, as well as musicians, visit ExchangeArts.org/artfest throughout the year.

Activities for families at the event will include The Exchange’s Art Cart, using simple materials – many of them recycled – to help bring out the beauty inside every person. We’ll have information on all of the art, craft, and food vendors, as well as the musicians, as the date draws nigh.

Right across the Square, don’t forget to check out the Bloomsburg Farmers Market.

The Exchange thanks the Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau and Downtown Bloomsburg, Inc., for their sponsorship of ArtFest; the event also receives support from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

BOO!Burg

Friday, October 25, 2019

7th Street, Bloomsburg

Bloomsburg will transform into “BOO!burg” as a group of organizations invited families for the Halloween festivities:

AGAPE, the Bloomsburg YMCA, Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, The Children’s Museum, Bloomsburg Public Library,
and The Exchange.

Art Cart

Year round

Throughout the community

The Art Cart has arrived! Since the summer of 2015, the Exchange has brought art supplies to venues throughout our area, from the Bloomsburg YMCA and Kiwanis day camps and the Children’s Museum to Brookdale Bloomsburg Senior Living and Balanced Care, as well as the Danville Child Development Center; the Bloomsburg, Danville, and Berwick public libraries; and many of the special-needs camps at Camp Victory outside of Millville. We make monthly visits with the seniors living at Bloomsburg Towers, Vintage Knolls, Nazareth Memory Center, and other places.

Our facilitators bring projects in many media, including painting and drawing, cut-out paper, and sculpture. They tailor the projects to any age group and any size group.

​For more information on this great program, check out the following website.

The Listening Room

Last Wednesday of the Month at 7PM

24 East Main St. Bloomsburg

$5 donation at the door; BYOB permitted

As part of its mission to bring the arts to all communities throughout our region, The Exchange hosts a monthly Blues Listening Room in its storefront art gallery on Main Street in Bloomsburg.

On the last Wednesday of every month, from 7 to 9 p.m., regional Blues musicians will perform in our intimate space at 24 East Main Street, up close and personal. We will feature a range of acts – solo artists and small bands, acoustic and electric – in an atmosphere conducive to enjoying and experiencing the music: just a few dozen concertgoers, the musician(s), and the music.

Backstage Pass to the Blues

Year round

Throughout the community

The Backstage Pass outreach program has brought world-class Blues musicians into close contact with students from pre-school through high school in Columbia, Montour, Luzerne, and Lycoming Counties since 2015. The Blues musicians who perform at Destination Blues share their talents, knowledge, and experience to promote love for and respect of music among young people, students at our public and independent schools.

We tailor the programs to each school’s needs, whether assemblies mixing “lectures” with a band playing, or individual performers conducting classes in Blues history, musicianship, and the music business. We support the programs through grant funding, sponsorships, donations, and income from the Festival, so we can provide it at no cost to the schools involved.

​For more information on this great program, check out the following website.

Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau Covered Bridge & Arts Festival

October 3rd – 6th, 2019
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday: 10 AM – 6 PM
Sunday: 10 AM – 5 PM

Location: Knoebels Amusement Resort
391 Knoebels Boulevard, Route 487
Elysburg, PA 17824

Situated in the beautiful surroundings of Knoebels Amusement Resort, the 37th Annual Columbia-Montour Visitors Bureau Covered Bridge & Arts Festival has something for everyone! The 2018 Covered Bridge Festival Brochure can be downloaded right here.

• More than 400 Craft Vendors & 38 Food Vendors!
• FREE Parking & FREE Admission
• Select Knoebels rides open ALL FOUR DAYS!

Destination Blues

February 8, 2020

Bloomsburg Restaurants and Pubs

Attracting people from far and wide, the annual Destination Blues Music Festival takes place in Columbia and Montour Counties, featuring acts ranging from solo acoustic performers to electric bands to a full Gospel choir. Most of the performances take place in family-friendly restaurants and bars with no cover charges; attendees enjoy the best of our area’s food and drink – think brewpubs! – in addition to the music.

​In its first year in 2014, Destination Blues had musicians at five venues; by the third year, that number had grown to 19, in Berwick, Bloomsburg, and Danville, with 35 performances by 70 musicians – by far the greatest concentration of music that our two counties have ever seen.

For info on this years event check out the Destination Blues Music Fest website.

Renaissance Jamboree

Saturday, April 27th

Downtown Bloomsburg

A completely outdoor event, Renaissance Jamboree features hundreds of craft vendors and delicious food from non-profit organizations in Columbia, Montour, and lower Luzerne counties. Enjoy FREE entertainment, kiddie rides, and games. Free parking with shuttle service will be available from the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds. For the safety and enjoyment of all attendees, please leave your pets at home.

​Check the Jamboree website for current information

Get arts news in your inbox!

Name