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What: 41st Mifflin-Juniata Arts Festival

When: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. May 16; 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. May 17

Where: Lewistown Rec Park

For more information: www.mifflinjuniataartsfest.com

LEWISTOWN - While Pennsylvania artists have been hit hard by the recession, some seek new opportunities and signs for hope in the future.

When the 41st Mifflin-Juniata Arts Festival opens May 16 in Lewistown's Rec Park, it will do so with a new president. Lewistown artist Damien Henry now helms the Mifflin-Juniata Arts Festival Council, bringing a new vision to one of the area's oldest arts festivals.

Henry and his wife, Sharon, run ManaMoon Studio, and have participated in the festival in previous years.

"When my wife and I saw that the festival was in danger of going away, we had to do something," Henry said.

Last year, longtime festival organizers Paul and Thiry Olbrich announced they would undertake a less active role in future festivals, prompting Henry and others to adopt vacated positions. While Henry announced he would continue many festival traditions, he also plans changes, including an arts scholarship to a deserving local student.

"I believe we should support local artists and student artists throughout the year, provide support to the art teachers at our local schools, and I would like to make art awareness a year-round thing," he said.

Henry's sentiments were echoed by council member Kelly Sunderland.

"We don't want to change its dedication to being a vehicle for talented local artists to show their work," Sunderland said. "We have a lot to offer and need to do a better job of promoting that."

The festival is an annual event featuring artists, crafters, musicians and food vendors.

"Being involved with the Arts Festival has been a bit of a family tradition for me for a long time, either by attending, showing artwork or being directly involved with the Arts Council. My mother and my grandmother, both artists, have been active with the festival in one way or another for its 41 years," Sunderland said.

Arts festivals have been hit hard by recent economic woes, and smaller shows like the Mifflin-Juniata Arts Festival often are overshadowed by larger festivals, such as the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, which runs later in the year. Many artists feel the economic factors affect them especially hard, and participating vendors at this year's festival are fewer than in years past.

"It's really hard for artists to make ends meet. Sales at festivals and galleries are down," said Rowan Rose, director of the Creative Oasis, a not-for-profit public arts studio in State College.

Like the Mifflin-Juniata Arts Festival, the Creative Oasis - which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year - has struggled to promote local artists while also serving the community. On Saturday, the Creative Oasis will host an opening for "Gateways," a show by State College artist and illustrator Eden Carnes. The Creative Oasis is one of the few remaining galleries where local artists can host shows.

Carnes describes "Gateways" as a collection of mixed media illustrations and installation pieces.

"I have always pictured my work as gateways to places other than the here and now," Carnes said. "That the world is constant and unmoving, I have accepted, but I can bring to this existence glimpses of things outside the ordinary. And to that end, I have always strived for the unordinary in my work."

Despite the economic worries, many of the artists and volunteers remain hopeful. Rose notes that charitable donations to the Creative Oasis have actually increased this year, and her personal sales also have increased.

"People may not be going to Cancun this year, but they may buy something of quality that's handmade," she said.

The 2009 Mifflin-Juniata Arts Festival is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 16, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 17, at Lewistown Rec Park. For additional information, go online to www.mifflinjuniataartsfest.com.