The Corvallis Folklore Society returns for its second year hosting the Corvallis Celtic Festival around the Corvallis Central Park from Thursday, July 25, through Sunday, July 28. The event celebrates all things Celtic, but most importantly provides a venue for Corvallis’ many Celtic musicians. Cliff Feldman, a Corvallis Folklore Society member and media contact, says there are 10 bands for every venue in Corvallis, and the Celtic Festival hopes to elevate the artistry of local musicians. “There are just a lot of players here that are looking to create something along the lines of what they love to do,” he says. The participating musicians have donated their time and talent to the Celtic Festival, making it an almost entirely free-to-attend event. On Friday, July 26, however, the Boston-based Irish and Scottish duo Rakish will be performing at Oregon State University’s Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts and ticket sales help fund the Celtic Festival. “All of this music is hundreds and hundred of years old,” Feldman says, “and the fact is that you don’t find a lot of music that has a tradition that reaches back that far.” In addition to the music, there’s still plenty to explore at the four-day festival. Performing musicians will hold free beginner, intermediate and advanced workshops on how to play their instruments, and local and traveling Celtic artisans will be selling their goods on site. Whether you’re Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Manx or not Celtic at all, the Corvallis Celtic Festival welcomes you.