Posts By: What The Feis

Feis At The Falls Review

Posted by What The Feis & filed under Feis at the Falls, Feis Reviews, New York Feis.

The Feis At The Falls was held on August 11th, 2012 at The Conference Center Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls, NY.  Ever thought about going and didn’t know what to expect? Well here ya go…

Venue – The venue was nice and had two areas with six stages set up for ‘pre-champs’ in one, and two stages in the other area for Champs. Admittedly, since my daughter is in the Open/Prizewinner level, I don’t venture into champ land much, so I am talking about the area I was in. The stages were a nice size, had ample seating and good room between. The camping seemed plentiful but there were, as always, your ‘camping squatters’ who set up in the viewing seats and spread out their stuff. Can you tell that is a pet peeve? Parking was plentiful but pricey. read more

Feis At The Falls – The Tourism Review

Posted by What The Feis & filed under Feis at the Falls, Feistaurants, New York Feis, Tourist.

We got to Niagara Falls on Friday night and stayed through Monday morning, so I figured I would add this bonus ‘tourism review.’

Niagara Falls American SideWhat can I say, if you go to this feis, you are literally a short walk away from an impressive natural attraction. We saw the falls every day during our walks and drove down one night to see the falls lit up. If you have never been, its one of those ‘you gotta see it’ places.

Niagara Falls Canadian SideWe stayed on the Canadian side, which actually has more attractions than the American side. You can visit places like Hard Rock (actually on both sides), Planet Hollywood, Margaritaville (which has Alexander Keith’s on tap, a fabulous beer I first had in Halifax where it is brewed), Ripleys Believe It Or Not, and lots of wax museums. If you have ever been to Myrtle Beach, or Gatlinburg, it’s kinda like that, with a Canadian accent. I would consider it a ‘family tourist area’ but tattoo parlors and head shops were evident on the main street. We stayed up on Lundy’s Lane, a few miles from the main area and there were some more mature shops in plain view, if you know what I mean. read more

T-Shirt Idea

Posted by What The Feis & filed under Ideas, Parents.

I always say I drive and pay, that’s my job as a dance dad. With that came this idea that I am thinking of making into a t-shirt. What do you think?

Clan na nGael Summer Feis Review

Posted by What The Feis & filed under Clan na nGael Summer Feis, Feis Reviews, Ohio Feis.

The Clan na nGael Summer Feis was held on July 14th, 2012 at the Shamrock Club in Columbus, OH and this was the first one.  Here is what this casual observer had to say…

OK, lets just start with the weather. The feis organizers really had no control over that, but it impacted the feis nonetheless. Rain up till early afternoon and then the sun came out and it got hot and muggy. I can only imagine that the heat wore at the girls…oh, did I mention this was an OUTDOOR FEIS? Who plans an outdoor feis in July? Sorry guys, I can’t see how that was a good idea, but that being said… read more

Being an Irish Dance Dad….

Posted by What The Feis & filed under Parents, Related.

I often feel like I am only there to drive and pay, but tonight, I had the chance to use some of my Navy training to help my little ‘dancing queen.’

The toes on her hard shoes had no black left on them, so I broke out my shoe shine kit and spent a half an hour on them. I did not do them like I would have back in the day, when I could spit shine shoes and make them shine like mirrors, but I blackened them and gave them a bit of a shine. You really cant see it because of the flash, but its there. My shining ability was a source of pride for me back then (I was actually accused of wearing patent leather shoes for inspections), and to be able to share some of that with my daughter made me happy, but I digress… read more

And speaking of the Dayton Feis…

Posted by What The Feis & filed under Dayton Feis, Related.

I want to say CONGRATS to Rachel from MI…. I won’t say what school or what age… She competed against my daughter and took first in every dance. Way to go!

Rachel and her Mom are the type to wait till the end to get results and it was killing me not to share with them how well Rachel was doing. It is really nice to meet dancers who don’t appear to have that ‘drama queen dance diva’ attitude and I like to see them succeed, even if they are beating my daughter.

Oh, BTW Rachel, can you move up so my daughter has a better chance?  Thanks!  ;) read more

Dayton Feis Review

Posted by What The Feis & filed under Dayton Feis, Feis Reviews, Ohio Feis.

The Dayton Feis was held on June 23rd,  2012 at Sinclair Community College in Dayton.  Here is what this casual observer had to say…

Venue –  I liked it.  May have seemed a little crowded to some people but I thought it was OK.  The stages were paired into twos,  at least the one that we were on,  but that was to accommodate limited musicians.  Unlike Louisville last week though,  it appeared they planned for that and had similar dances and comp sizes running simultaneously. Good camping space and stage separation (except the paired ones of course). Food was one floor up and awards two floors up, but it was a nice break to walk around between dances. read more

Louisville Feis Review

Posted by What The Feis & filed under Feis Reviews, Kentucky Feis, Louisville Feis.

What to say about the Louisville Feis, held 6/16/2012,  well how about….

Thumbs up for the judging as they rotated often.  Not doing that is one of my big pet peeves.

Results came out fairly quickly,  somewhere between 10 and 30 minutes after each dance but typically closer to 10. Good job there!

Food was typical but pretty good and not outrageously priced.

I am afraid that is where the positives have to stop though.

The new venue,  although I hear through the grapevine is just temporary, is terrible.  Small and very cramped with inadequate seating and camping space and very loud,  so loud in fact the musician stopped and tried to hush the crowd.  Sorry,  call them like I see them. read more

Cincinnati Feis Review

Posted by What The Feis & filed under Cincinnati Feis, Feis Reviews, Ohio Feis.

Quick post regarding the Cincinnati Feis that was held on June 10th. I meant to post this right after the feis but had one of those weeks. 

Overall I liked the feis.  It was held at the Cintas Center at Xavier University and the venue was nice.  Lots of seats where you could both camp and view the stages. It was an ‘arena’ so the food was a bit pricey and was the typical fare,  pizza,  hot dogs,  pretzels,  etc….  The vendors were very limited,  shoes and wigs were represented but not much else. read more