Arts Fest 2014 has entered the 21st century with the creation of a new app that will allow users to get an “inside experience” to all of the details of the annual gathering.

With it, users can read descriptions of the 300 artists selling their work at Arts Fest, view schedules of various music, dance and theatrical performances, and browse the rest of the festival’s activities.

Additionally, the app displays locations for each artist and performance venue, and can tell you which artists and performances are closest to you. If you find an event you like, you can bookmark it and get a reminder an hour before the event starts. Users can also share their experiences through social media, and upload photos to and post comments on the official blog of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.

The app was created by researchers at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology, in conjunction with the Center for Human-Computer Interaction housed within the college. “We want to get people to socialize and communicate with each other at Arts Fest,” said Patrick Shih, a research associate at the College of IST.

The app is available for both iPhones and Android devices (sorry, Windows Phone crowd), and can be accessed through the Google Play Store and the Apple app store by searching  “arts festival state college.” If that’s too difficult, Penn State has you covered, and will have a booth staffed with Center for HCI personal next to the Creamery. Arts Fest unofficially begins today with its Kids Day before rolling out the rest of its events tomorrow. The schedule of events can be found here.

Let’s hope it works better than the CATA app.