The hopefully final snowfall has melted away (*knocks on all the wood in the surrounding area*), which means we can finally start looking ahead to summer festival season – including Milwaukee Irish Fest, which today announced its lineup of musical entertainment for its 38th edition, running Aug. 16-19 at Henry W. Maier Festival Park.

While the official schedule has yet to be released, the annual lakefront festival posted its list of performers, ranging from the comfortably familiar to the completely new to Cream City. Featured in this year's festival lineup is the 2018 "Nova Scotia: Celtic Heart of North America," gathering some of the Canadian province's cuisine, heritage and, of course, musicians together into a cultural showcase. Some performers traveling from the land up north to the Milwaukee lakefront this summer include:

• Còig
• Mary Jane Lamond and Wendy MacIsaac
• Scott Macmillan and Colin Grant
• Shannon Quinn
• Shreem
• The Stanfields

In addition, this summer's edition will welcome several new artists making their U.S. or Irish Fest debut – many, for the second year, from Ireland's TradFest Temple Bar, a fellow Irish music and culture festival based out of Dublin. This summer, those performers will include:

• Kern (TradFest artist)
• Connla (TradFest artist)
• Daoirí Farrell (TradFest artist)
• Jiggy (TradFest artist)
• Doolin 
• Hank Cramer
• Seo Linn
• Talisk
• The Coronas

Meanwhile, beloved returning performers to the Milwaukee Irish Fest stage include:

• Gaelic Storm
• Natalie MacMaster, Donnell Leahy and Family
• Red Hot Chili Pipers
• The Screaming Orphans
• We Banjo 3

"Through our travels, we have the opportunity to meet amazing artists and organizations from around the world, and we are excited to bring a taste of Nova Scotia to Milwaukee this summer," said Mike Mitchell, executive director of CelticMKE, in a press release. "From the amazing showcase artists, to TradFest performers, new artists and returning fan favorites, our 2018 lineup has something for everyone."

Tickets are currently on sale at Milwaukee Irish Fest's website – including a buy-one-get-one free O'BOGO promotion running through Saturday, March 17. For more information on the schedule, tickets and more, visit Irish Fest's official website – and for more festival announcements, stay tuned to OnMilwaukee.