LSU ceramics professor Andy Shaw received the Lautsch Family Award of Excellence in the 48th Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition, held from July 9–13 in State College, Pennsylvania.

The jurors for this year’s event were Garth Johnson, Philadelphia, PA; Martin Heavner, Ijamsville, MD; Janice Lessman-Moss, Kent, OH; Rebecca Thornburgh, Philadelphia, PA; and Jen Townsend, Pittsford, NY.

Sidewalk Sale Coordinator Pam Lautsch made the award presentation. She was assisted by Jeanne Gleason, the vice-chair of the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, and Joyce H. Robinson, president of the festival’s board of directors.

Shaw has been a prize winner at the festival several times, winning its Arete Best in Show Award in 2004 and its Fine Arts Award in 2007.

The festival brings more than 100,000 people to downtown State College and the University Park campus of Penn State each July. In addition to the Sidewalk Sale and Exhibition, the festival presents performers of international, national, and regional stature on outdoor and indoor stages. The festival is currently rated as the top fine arts and design festival in America by Sunshine Artist, an industry publication.

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding is provided through a grant made by possible by the Central Pennsylvania Convention and Visitors’ Bureau and the Centre County Commissioners.

The 49th Annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts will be held July 8-12, 2015. Visit arts-festival.com for more information.