Serving students and alumni, dealing with drunken comments and navigating a crowded bar during Arts Fest and football weekends.

Those are only a few of the challenges State College bartenders face.

Working during the summer is usually much more relaxed than the school year but it still has its excitement, former Penn State student Lakiesha Cooper said.

“It doesn’t get too crazy except for Arts Fest,” Cooper said.

As a server at 797 Lounge, 244 West College Ave., Cooper said she has seen it all in State College — incredibly long lines to get into bars, fist fights and people getting kicked out of different establishments.

But behind the scenes, the State College bar scene isn’t just about partying — there is also a sense of family between the employees at the different venues, Cooper said.

“The environment is really relaxed,” Cooper said. “You really make friends with people from other places.”

At the Phyrst, 111 1/2 E. Beaver Ave., bartender and shift manager Richard Peat echoed Cooper’s statement.

“We’re a tight-knit family,” Peat, Class of 2007, said.

Different bartenders from multiple downtown bars typically come to the Phyrst on Sunday to drink and relax, Peat said.

The students come to the bar for two big reasons — to celebrate their 21st birthdays and to see local bands perform, Peat said.

“I love that we have live music every night,” he said. “We’re the busiest bar in town every day.”

Apart from birthday celebrations, the Phyrst is a traditional Irish bar with an old-fashioned style that makes working there special, Peat said.

Even though the bar scene can be hectic, working at the Phyrst is interesting because the crowd ranges from students to alumni, he said.

Serving a diverse range of patrons is all part of the job for Andrew Alvarez at The Deli Restaurant, 113 Heister St.

“We have a steady clientele,” Alvarez (junior-graphic design) said.

Alumni and students make up the crowd at The Deli, where patrons can find a wide selection of good drinks at good prices, Alvarez said.

But the weekends — and the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts — can still be intense, he said.

Even though summer may be a slower time of year compared to football weekends, Arts Fest was one of the biggest weekends of the year, Alvarez said.

And Arts Fest wasn’t without its problems — Alvarez said he saw a girl vomit on the sidewalk chalk on Hiester Street one night.

Peat and the other Phyrst bartenders operated an Irish Car Bomb express lane throughout the day to meet the growing crowd at the bar, Peat said.

Last year while working during Arts Fest, a patron ran into Cooper, causing her to drop an entire tray of drinks.

For Alvarez, bartending is a great experience, but going out in the crowded downtown bar scene is a different story.

“I hate being shoulder-to-shoulder waiting for a 25 cent draft,” Alvarez said. “I enjoy being able to talk to my friends.”

Having patrons in the bar is good business, but all three bartenders stressed the importance of watching out for visibly intoxicated patrons — something that comes with the territory of working at a downtown bar.

“People go out with the intention of getting wasted, not having a good time,” Cooper said. “You can go out and have a few drinks and still have a fun time.”