In less than a month, the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts will return to the streets of downtown State College.

But after two years away, there's a lot in store for art-lovers in our region.

"It's a five-day celebration of the arts with performing in visual arts takes place right here in downtown State College," the festival's executive director, Rick Bryant, told 6 News on Wednesday. "We have about 300 artists with little, white tents. They come from about 40 states in a typical year."

It's all you could imagine with the festival's grand return.

Bryan says they expect 125,000 people to attend, and there will be events and performances at three large outdoor stages, as well as inside the State Theater and other venues.

Planning all this, however, hasn't been a walk in the park.

"One of the challenges is, you know, we haven't done it two years and we're not as young as we used to be," Bryant explains. "You know, we're worried about our memories a little bit."

But he tells us the economy has given them some hurtles.

"Things cost more, people don't have the staff that they used to have, and so on. But, you know, as they did in the Battle of Britain, we'll muddle through, we'll be fine."

"We have a paid staff of three, so we have about 600 volunteers and they do everything from sort of artist liaison to help pick up the trash."

He says they're looking for volunteers. If you're interested, you can check out their volunteer page.

It'll be the festival's 56th year, and Bryant's been there for most of them.

"I've been the director since 2005. I've been on the paid staff since 1999 and I started to volunteer in 1984 picking up the trash," he says. "And I still pick up the trash."

"It feels great," he said about returning after a two-year hiatus. "You know,...we've figured out that we can have sports. So, why shouldn't we have arts? You know, we're gonna have a great time. ...It's a wonderful reason to come to State College. And so, you'll see why it's called Happy Valley."

The festival kicks off Wednesday, Jul. 13, with a full day of kids activities, and runs through Sunday, Jul. 17. Bryant says Covid requirements may vary at some indoor venues.

Event details can be found on the festival's website.