Emotive foot-tapping tunes have started floating through the air from the Koroit-Tower Hill Caravan Park.
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The Lake School of Celtic music song and dance is back in Koroit for its 20th year and has more than 250 participants for the six day event which launched Wednesday.
The focus of the school is on teaching and learning Celtic traditions including song and dance.
Program director and co-founder of the Lake School Felix Meagher said the event had increased in popularity.
“It’s grown quite a lot in the past two to three years,” he said.
He said it took a lot of hard work to organise and there were about 30 tutors, 30 volunteers and more than 100 workshops and classes on the program.
Participants undertake a number of classes throughout the event before they showcase their work at a concert.
This year the school had a special guest from Ireland.
Manus McGuire is an acclaimed fiddle player and performed on Wednesday night at the Koroit Theatre.
Meanwhile, flute player Maddy Barbary from Mildura is part of this year’s Stars On The Lake program which helps develop young Celtic musicians.
She will play in a band of four young women – including Roni Corby, Cait Corby and Laura Hickey – who will rehearse together during the event and perform a 40 minute set of Celtic tunes at a final concert.
The Stars On The Lake band will also play at the Port Fairy Folk Festival and the Celtic festival in Portarlington later this year.
Miss Barbary, 18, who started coming to the Lake School when she was 10 years old said she enjoyed catching up with friends from previous years.
“I love coming to the Koroit Lake School because it’s like coming home every year,” she said.
“We see the same faces each year and there are always new people as well and the family becomes bigger and bigger.”
Margie Brophy is one of the Lake School organisers and has been attending the event since it first started.
“I just love it,” she said.
“I’ve shifted to Tasmania and I’m still coming over to work with it.”
While Lake School students will be busy learning during the event, those not participating can attend music sessions in Koroit including at Mickey Bourkes Hotel.
Irish dancing teacher Geraldine Ryan was recently inducted as a Legend of the Lake.
She has been teaching Irish dancing for more than 75 years and teaches in numerous towns in regional Victoria including Hamilton, Crossley and Wodonga.
