Posts Categorized: Feis Reviews

Ryan-Kilcoyne Feis 2014, PC/OC Review

Posted by Mom O'Three & filed under Feis Reviews, Pennsylvania Feis, Ryan-Kilcoyne Feis.

The 20th Annual Ryan-Kilcoyne School of Irish Dancing Feis was held on October 11, 2014, at the Maple Point Middle School in Langhorne, PA.

Venue

A school. A very small, tight school. This mainly presents issues when it comes to parking and navigating the halls. There are vendors in the small hallways, right next to award postings. It is a difficult feat to get between a beginning mother and her much needed pictures of her newest dancer who just received her first 1st. It could take you several minutes to get to the gym navigating the maze. There are many unused hallways in this school. Why does everything need to be crowded into 2 narrow hallways? read more

Rhythm of Ireland Feis 2014, Champs Review

Posted by Finnegan Murphy & filed under Feis Reviews, Rhythm of Ireland Feis, Virginia Feis.

Booster LogoThe Rhythm of Ireland School hosted their annual feis Sat Oct 18-19, returning to Williamsburg after a one year hiatus (held in nearby Portsmouth in 2013.)  This review covers the Championship competitions on Saturday.

Venue

This feis returns to the original location, The Doubletree by Hilton (formerly a Marriott.)  The venue is spacious, with large ballrooms for competitions, vendors in the hallways outside the ballrooms and the auditorium.  A good feis rate was offered for the hotel, and some rooms were extremely spacious.  This feis also offers itself as a weekend destination for the whole family, with much to do for the entire family.  Many feis goers enjoyed the outlets, Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens before or after competitions. read more

Rhythm of Ireland Feis 2014, Grades Review

Posted by Corabelle Colbert & filed under Feis Reviews, Rhythm of Ireland Feis, Virginia Feis.

Booster LogoThe Rhythm of Ireland hosted their annual feis on Saturday October 18th and Sunday October 19th, returning to Williamsburg after a one year hiatus (held in nearby Portsmouth in 2013). This review covers the morning session of Grades, which featured Beg and Ad Beg of all ages, Novice u10 and below and PW U11 and below. Champs danced Saturday and Nov U11 and older and PW U12 and older all danced after lunch.

Venue

The Doubletree by Hilton was the site of the feis. It’s a huge venue, with enormous  ballrooms and plenty of space for vendors. It’s a very nice hotel and a feis rate was offered. It was nice to have the feis back in Williamsburg. read more

Feis An Fhomhair 2014 Review

Posted by Jose Kinyuci & filed under Alberta Feis, Canada Feis, Feis An Fhomhair, Feis Reviews.

gargoyleleftThe Feis An Fhomhair, hosted by the Irwin School of Irish Dancing, was held on October 10-12, 2014 in Calgary, Alberta.

Venue

The Feis An Fhomhair takes place at the Hyatt Regency Calgary, in the heart of downtown.  Guest rooms are wonderful, service staff is attentive and friendly, and the special “feis rate” brings the cost down to a manageable level for families.  The Hyatt has underground parking (with a special rate for feis attendees.)  I did not notice other downtown parking near the hotel. read more

Pat Roche Feis 2014, Grades Review

Posted by Jeannette & filed under Feis Reviews, Illinois Feis, Pat Roche Feis.

logocolorThe 2014 Pat Roche Feis was held on October 11-12, 2014 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont II. This was our first time attending this feis, and we attended only the first day, which was for grades.  PC/OC is not covered in this review, as those competitions were held the second day.

Venue

The feis was held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention center.  The location was convenient — right near Chicago’s O’Hare airport, and easily accessible from the highway.

Parking (in a garage across the street from the venue) was $13 for the day, which is not bad by Chicago standards, but pricier than many other feiseanna, and at that amount, is something that needs to be built into the budget for the day. read more

Gem City Feis 2014 PC/OC Review

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

gcfThe Gem City Feis was held on October 11th, 2014 at the Dayton Airport Expo Center in Vandalia, OH (basically attache to the Dayton International Airport, 15 minutes north of Dayton proper).

This is the third review I have done for Gem City, but I have been to the feis numerous times. If you would like to review the previous reviews, see this page.

Venue

As I have said in the past, the Expo Center is a great venue for a feis. Lots of space, nice size stages, nice separation between the stages, etc… My big peeve with this venue is the assigned camping area. If I was to refer to last years review, I said: read more

Greensboro City Feis 2014 Grades Review for U10 and Below

Posted by Corabelle Colbert & filed under Feis Reviews, Greensboro City Feis, North Carolina Feis.

The 2nd annual Greensboro City Feis, held on Saturday October 4th and Sunday October 5th was sponsored by the Walsh Kelley School. After a not so stellar venue in 2013, the organizers secured a different hotel for 2014 -The Greensboro Marriott Downtown.This review will cover my opinion of the U10 and below comps. U11 and above danced later in the day.

Venue

The venue was much improved from last year. Overall it was more spacious, both the dance room, vendor room, and hotel lobby. A feis rate of $119.00 was offered (plus parking). There was ample parking in the garage adjacent to the hotel but it wasn’t free. There are restaurants in walking distance however the area around the hotel might be best visited in the daylight and with a group of people. Initially the dance room was stuffy then the air kicked on and it was noticeably cooler. read more

Pittsburgh Halloween Feis 2014, PC/OC Review

Posted by What The Feis & filed under Feis Reviews, Pennsylvania Feis, Pittsburgh Halloween Feis.

I have been to four (at least) feis at this venue between the Halloween Feis and The West Virginia Feis. Yes, I said WV. It is at the same venue as the Halloween Feis which is actually between Pittsburgh and WV, but I digress. My first few experiences (one & two) were not my favorite, but number three was much better. The fact that TGC has moved up into the PC ranks, really helps the ‘likeability’ of this feis since the champs portion is held on Sunday. Not taking away from the great job the feis team does on Saturday mind you, but Sunday is just better. Can I get a ‘yeah man!’ read more

Clan na nGael SummerFeis 2014 Grades Review

Posted by Kelly Ryland & filed under Clan na nGael Summer Feis, Feis Reviews, Ohio Feis.

The 3rd annual Clan na nGael SummerFeis was held at the Shamrock Club in Columbus, OH on July 12th, 2014.

First things first: this feis is outdoors. In Ohio.  In July. This is not secret/privileged information. ;-) If the possibility of rain or humidity during a dance competition seems unappealing, this might not be the feis for you.   However, if you are lover of all-things-summer, combined with all-things-Irish-dancing, this feis can be a fantastic experience.

Administration–9

This was the most organized feis committee we have encountered thus far.  Communication via facebook was fantastic. The committee was upfront on both their website (http://www.clannnangael.org/summer-feis-2013/) and their facebook page about a $5 parking fee. In an age when some of us mostly carry plastic, I really appreciated knowing in advance that I would need paper money for parking.  I’m not a fan of the surprise parking fee that leads me to wander around an unfamiliar city searching for an ATM.  This feis filled very quickly and the committee was right on top of things, releasing stage assignments WEEKS before the feis. That deserves a shout out!  Volunteers at the feis were friendly and very patient with those who were….weary (to be polite) from the humidity that day.  The songs for the Treble Reel competition were also announced well in advance of the feis and divided up by age. Kudos to the committee for superior communication! read more

Baltimore Feis 2014, PC/OC & Grades

Posted by Mom O'Three & filed under Baltimore Feis, Feis Reviews, Maryland Feis.

Always good to have a second opinion, although these guys seem to be on the same page pretty much. Please also see the Baltimore Feis Review from Corabelle.

27th Annual Baltimore Feis
Date: Saturday September 20th, 2014
Location: Brooklyn Park Maryland
www.broesler.com

Venue

A nice suburban school. The best part is the time of year and the outside space. If the weather cooperates, there is plenty of space to camp outside. There is a large walking distance between the grade stages and the open champ stage. The grade awards and food are downstairs which also helps cut down on the crowded halls. read more