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.
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.
A Full Moon and Plenty to Do in Happy Valley
July ends with a full moon, and August begins with a full calendar in Happy Valley.
The State Games of America continue throughout the weekend, bringing athletes and competitions to venues across Centre County.
Here are some of the events happening around Happy Valley over the coming week.
The Meeting of the Minds
Happiness, the old phrase goes, is a meeting of the minds.
I have spent a good while now trying to figure out what that actually means. Not as poetry. As a working proposition. And I think I have it. A meeting of the minds is not agreement. It is alignment. The convergence of understanding, values, intentions, and action between two people, or two hundred, sufficient that they understand one another, trust one another, and move toward shared purpose. When that alignment holds, something happens that looks, from the inside, like flourishing. Not pleasure. Not optimization. Flourishing. The condition in which a person’s capacities are exercised, their relationships are real, their work has meaning, their community holds them, and their life is, on balance, their own.
It’s a Good Day at Good Day Cafe
At Good Day Cafe, the staff clear your table for you. Not because you asked, but because manager Laura Snyder decided it makes customers feel welcomed. “We also have our staff come out and take care of tables. We put that expectation to clean up on us, not our customers, which I think makes it a little more welcoming,” she says. It is a small thing, and it tells you most of what you need to know about the place.
John Walls: The Farm Boy Who Built a Place to Belong
John Walls came to Happy Valley in 1990 with a simple plan: stay three or four years, climb the corporate ladder at Abbott Diagnostics, then move on to Chicago or Mountain View or wherever the next promotion took him.
That was 36 years ago.
He is still here. And the reasons why tell you everything about what makes this valley different.
There Is Still Time
Names have been changed.
My neighbor Sally is dying.
Home hospice is meeting with her and her husband this week. Most of her days are now spent in a chair, in the bathroom, or in bed.
When we told another neighbor, she mentioned that an ambulance had been at Sally’s house three weeks earlier. I had missed it, and I have not been able to shake that.
I talk often about knowing our neighbors, showing up for one another, and building community. Something important was happening just across the street, and I did not know.
Community Takes Center Stage This Week in Happy Valley
Community takes center stage this week. Whether it’s gathering for a neighborhood concert, supporting a local nonprofit, cheering on athletes, exploring the outdoors, or catching up with friends over live music, there are plenty of opportunities to connect.
One event we’re especially looking forward to is Penn State Rise Above’s We Are Family event on Saturday at The Penn Stater Hotel & Conference Center, supporting Penn State Adaptive Athletics.
With the State College Spikes returning home for a full slate of games and promotions along with concerts, outdoor adventures, trivia nights, and family activities, there’s plenty happening all week long.
What’s Happening in Happy Valley: A Not So Quiet Week.
At first glance, the week after Arts Fest might seem quiet. Dig a little deeper, though, and that is definitely not the case.
