Back to Amanda’s Bequest

/0 Comments/in , , /by

This is a follow up to a post I wrote last year, and some of the references may make more sense if you read that first. This is a bit more ‘story-tellish’ than most of my posts, and the story does not do it justice 🙂

ab1So a year after our discovery of a hidden gem in Montague, MI we returned to the Muskegon area for the 2014 Michigan Feis. It started with a Facebook message to Valerie, the proprietor, saying we were on the way. She let us know that she had other guests this year and that breakfast would be at 930. I replied that we would need to leave about 8 to get to the feis on time, and she need not worry about us, but shortly after, received a response saying we would not be leaving without breakfast, and that we could eat at 730.

ab2We arrived after dark and the front light was off, so we parked near the back and went in through the back as the kitchen light was on. Valerie met us in the kitchen with hugs and a smile. NOTE: I think we got the hugs because we were repeat customers. She had warm cider and home made donuts and cupcakes waiting, and after we got settled in our room, we came back down. We met a young German couple, B & K, also repeat guests, who had also stumbled across Amanda’s for their first visit. We sat around the table and swapped stories about whatever, ate donuts, drank cider, and somebody had snuck in some beer.  We laughed and acted like people would have before the onslaught of technology. I am beginning to think this house has that effect on people.

ab3The next morning I got up early and while Mrs. WTF and TGC got ready upstairs, I went downstairs and found Valerie, once again in dress and apron getting breakfast ready. There was a large skillet of sausage gravy and the blue coffee pot on the stove. John was there to, and he got me a cup of coffee, and I moved off to a seat in the corner of the kitchen and took it all in. Sitting in that kitchen is like going back in time, not just the decor, but the feeling. There is just a sense of calm and maybe it is because it reminds me of my grandmother’s and great grandmother’s kitchens, I don’t know. Doesn’t matter why.

ab4The women folk came down, and we were seated. For breakfast we had fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, scratch biscuits, sausage, gravy, toast, a homemade cinnamon jelly, and more coffee. John and Valerie joined us and had coffee while we ate, making sure our cups stayed full and that we were well fed. Everything was as it has been, wonderful.

ab5We finished up and went on our merry way. The feis was good, made all that much better by TGC’s (The Girl Child in case you have stumbled upon this and are not familiar with all the players) great results in the competition. Since she had done so well, she was invited back for the Parade of Champions at the Michigan Irish Music Festival (MIMF) which coincides with the feis weekend. Since we would have to be back that evening, we skipped going to the MIMF right after the feis which had been our norm, and went back to the B&B for a little rest between the events. I was not surprised to find fresh made fall pies waiting, but we would have to wait till Sunday morning before partaking. There were still donuts and cider though.

We opted for rest instead of exploring the yard, seeing the chickens and ducks and rabbits as we had last year, and since the last time, they added a small pond. Plus, since we were back at the festival in the evening, we missed the opportunity for a bonfire which was another of the highlights of our last stay.

ab7The MIMF was fun as always, but a lot more crowded in the evening than we were used to in our afternoon visits. Suffice it to say the crowd was a bit more ‘boisterous’ as well, so we retired before 11 and went back to Amanda’s Bequest.

Sunday greeted us with another wonderful breakfast, starting with the pies made the day before. The Sunday morning pie tradition, we found out later, had been going on for about a year, and we believe we were the first (or one of the first) guests to enjoy this new tradition in 2013. The fall pie was excellent, but I really prefer the Heritage Apple Pie Valerie makes (shh, don’t tell her). A breakfast bake followed, with fresh salsa made from ingredients from the garden in the back yard, toast, jam and coffee, and excellent company. The German couple had been replaced by a ‘foodie couple’ who both worked in the industry, and the conversation was lively and educational. It even came out that Valerie had developed a curriculum to teach children the basics of heritage cooking, and that she had not only successfully taught her program, but that it has been gaining popularity in Michigan and was being adopted by various agencies to help children.

ab6Some time later, with bellies full and minds freshly expanded, we said our goodbyes to Valerie and John. It isn’t often that I am so taken by a place, but the genuine relaxation I find there, plus Valerie’s cooking and the hospitality of both her and John make Amanda’s Bequest a must-see in your getaway plans if you are in that area. Admittedly, it is more expensive than local hotels, but it’s really hard to put a number on what you will walk away with. My hope is your experience will be like ours.

 

Michigan (Muskegon) Feis 2014 Review, Champs/0 Comments/in , , /by

The 2014 Michigan Feis was held on September 13, 2014 at Muskegon Central Catholic High School in Muskegon, MI. This is the 4th time the WTF famila has attended this feis, and honestly, it is one of our faves. Jeanette did an awesome job for the over all feis review so I will just be adding notes for some things she did not cover from a champs perspective or other items. I do suggest reading Jeanette’s review along with this one for the big picture.

One thing I do not think she mentioned is that each dancer gets a free ticket into the Michigan Irish Music Festival which is a savings of $15 to $20 if you are going to it, which I highly suggest.

Venue

We were at the other end of the school on Stage 1, in the far gym, the one Jeanette did not get too. The stage was very large, over 30 x 30 but the gym was very warm. One large fan at the front door was not cutting it keeping the room cool. NOTE: I am not the large fan that was trying to be cool.

Stage condition was great and I only saw one near slip, by TGC actually, and that was because of trying to avoid a collision with the other dancer.

Everything else Jeanette says is spot on, except, although George the Shoe Guy’s company was well represented by Betsy, his daughter, George is still recuperating from his surgery, and according to Betsy is doing well.

Judges

Typical for Champs, three judges, all attentive, no special comments.

Music

For stage 1 there was the ‘standing fiddle player’ I have mentioned in the past. There was some issues with sound before TGC danced but they got it all worked out and things went smoothly the rest of the time we were there. The stage is so far away from the others that music bleedover in literally impossible at normal volume levels.

Food

We took advantage of the coffee and morning items. All reasonable and the coffee wasn’t terrible.

Results/Awards

I have to concur with my co-reviewer, things move pretty quickly awards wise, so fast in fact TGC needed to do a quick change back into her dress as we got back to the gym right when her comp announcements were about to start. I would say it was less than 30 minutes from the completion of her dances to the presentation of awards. Admittedly, this was one of the smaller comps she has competed with in a while, but that was still really fast.

Regarding the Champ awards, they received medals if they placed top three in their dances, and then a nice gift for overall placement. I saw crystal and china items, not sure what else was handed out. A negative, they only gave sashes for 1st.

Since this feis runs in conjunction with the Michigan Irish Music Festival, top finishers get to participate in the Parade of Champions at the festival, AND one parent gets a free ticket. Sure we had to scalp our ticket at the gate since we bought in advance, but hey, it worked out great 🙂

Feis Flow

Pretty good, but it took a lot longer for TGC to dance then we assumed based on the number of comps and dancers that went before her. For champs, they took 2 – 3 age groups and rotated through the dances for them before moving to the next age groups. When she started however, start to finish was less than 30 minutes (remember, small comp but the comp that was running with hers had 15ish dancers).

Scoring

I am with Jeanette on this one, a few little nits like the temperature in the gym and only giving sahes for 1st, but this feis is easily a 9.

What did you think?

Want to rate the feis or have an opinion? Please visit the Grades Review page and use the poll at the bottom of the page. Thanks!

Michigan (Muskegon) Feis 2014 Review, Grades/0 Comments/in , , /by

The 2014 Michigan Feis was held on September 13, 2014 at Muskegon Central Catholic High School in Muskegon, MI. This is the 2nd time we have attended this feis, and we have had a very pleasant experience here both times. This review is mainly aimed at the Grades experience at this feis.

Venue

The feis was held at Muskegon Central Catholic High School.

Parking was free, plentiful & close – which was a nice change from many other feiseanna we have attended recently!

Because this feis is associated with the Michigan Irish Music Festival, there was an admission fee for adults at the door (I believe it was $8/person), but dancers were admitted free. There was a bit of a bottleneck getting into the school because people were paying the admission fee, but those who checked in the night before at the feis hotel & got their admission wristbands paid for then were able to walk right in. We had not prepaid, but still waited less than 5 minutes to get in, which is quick compared to other feiseanna we’ve been to with a similar setup.

Registration and awards were right inside the entryway, and my dancer was checked in quickly and easily.
The feis had 4 stages this year – 3 for grades & 2 for PC/OC. The PC/OC stage was off on its own (and I never ventured over to see it, to be honest). Stage 2 was housed in the school’s auditorium, which made for a nice experience for the dancers on it – quiet, calm & out of the way. My dancer was on this stage when we attended in 2013 and really enjoyed it. The other 2 stages were in the gym, separated by a decent distance. All stages were of a reasonable size & the quality seemed great – I don’t think I saw a single fall on the 2 stages in the gym all day.

I really liked this setup, as I didn’t feel like I was crammed into a room with 1,000 of my closest friends (as I often do at feiseanna), but if you had dancers on multiple stages, it might have been difficult & tiring to run back & forth between them.

I did not check out the vendors, but I understand that George the shoe guy was there, along with a t-shirt vendor & a wig/bling vendor.

Restrooms were convenient & relatively clean. I never had to wait in line in the ladies room, which was nice.

There was no camping, but there was sufficient room for everyone’s gear at the stages. The auditorium was large enough to hold people & bags in the chairs provided, and the bleachers were adequate for everyone & everything in the gym.

Practice space was pretty much non-existent. There were signs up all over the place asking that dancers not dance on school floors. Dancers in the auditorium had some carpeted space at the back of the room that they could practice on, but the dancers in the gym were limited to a small corner.

Overall Venue Score: 8/10.

Judges

My dancer danced 6 times and was seen by 2 judges. That’s not overly great rotation in my opinion, but it is relatively typical for a feis run by level. My dancer’s judges seemed attentive & provided detailed & helpful comments, which we appreciate, as that doesn’t always happen.

Judge Score: 7/10

Music

On the grades stage in the auditorium, the music was great. The musician was excellent & there were no sound/tempo issues that I noted. On the 2 stages in the gym, one had a violin & one had an accordion. My dancer danced on both stages & said she had no issues hearing either musician & really didn’t note much bleed over between the stages (and she is usually the first to complain about issues with hearing music), but sitting in the bleachers, I could only hear the accordion. I did see one dancer on one stage start her traditional set dance at the wrong time, because the song was being played on the other stage as well. At one point, one of the judges stopped the dancing on his stage & had a discussion with the accordion player & a feis volunteer & then rearranged speakers so he could hear the music better, so at least there was a willingness to adjust things as needed.
My suggestion in this area would be for the feis to take a cue from the Missouri State Championships and use a single musician for both stages. It might slow things down a little bit, but it would eliminate the bleed over issue altogether.

Music Score: 7/10

Food

The feis had a concession stand with hot dogs, chips & other similar items. Not much variety or much of anything healthy, but prices were quite reasonable. More importantly, unlike most other feiseanna we attend, there was no restriction on bringing in your own food, so we didn’t even need to visit the concession stand. Volunteers even smiled at us as we walked in with our cooler & asked if they could share the Jimmy Johns sandwiches we brought with us, which was a nice change of pace!

Food Score: 8/10

Results/Awards

This is where this feis really sets itself apart from others, in my opinion. Instead of crowding around a wall where results are posted (although I believe they are posted on a wall somewhere too), you simply hand your number card to a volunteer at the awards table, who looks you up in the computer, prints out all your results (including comments & exact placements!) and hands you your awards.

We don’t check results until our dancer is finished with all her dances, so I don’t know how fast results were posted during the day, but she got in line to pick up awards within 10 minutes of finishing her dances & was able to get all her results immediately.

This year, the feis was also posting results online. I believe they were updated every 30 minutes or so, so it was probably faster to simply walk over to the awards table, but it did allow folks who weren’t able to attend the feis to see how friends had placed. My dancer was thrilled to receive a congratulatory text from a friend at home who saw her results.

Placements appeared to be generous – I am not sure of the exact formula, but it appeared to me that the feis placed either through 5th place or half the dancers, depending on level & the size of the group. I doubt many (if any) dancers went home empty handed, which I like – it’s nice to see the dancers have a little something to show for their hard work, in my opinion.

Medals were awarded for all grades placements, and trophies were given out for 1st place in Open Prizewinner. The medals were very nice quality & were unique – not your typical cookie cutter circle with a sticker slapped on. And best of all, they came with the ribbons already attached (other feiseanna, please take note – parents LOVE this!!!). The trophies were also nice quality – small, but well made.

Results/Awards Score: 10/10

Feis Flow

For grades, this feis was run by level, which meant people were in & out fairly quickly. My dancer had dances in novice & open/prizewinner both. She started dancing around 10:30, and we were done by 2:15, which included a fairly long lunch break.

One thing I found odd was that there was no timeframe given for the lunch break. When my dancer asked a stage monitor how long the break would be, the answer was “we’ll start again whenever the judge comes back”.

Volunteers did move dances from stage 3 to stage 4 (both in the gym) in order to keep the feis moving quickly. However, no announcement was made (at least not that I heard), and it was just luck that my dancer noticed that 2 of her dances had been moved. Clearer communication about that & about the length of the lunch break would have been nice.

Feis Flow Score: 8/10

Overall Score: 8/10 – Great job Michigan Feis!!!

This is one of our favorite feiseanna – we will definitely be back again next year!

What Did You Think?

[poll id=”68″]

Amanda’s Bequest B&B

/3 Comments/in , /by

And now, there is a sequel visit… read about it here.

Up until now, I have not found any feis accommodations worth blogging about, I mean hotels are hotels right? Some are nicer than others, but generally, as long as they are clean, they are really all the same. But when we waited to long to make a hotel reservation, in Muskegon, the weekend of the Irish Music Festival and feis, I just knew we were going to end up in a hotel that was on the less acceptable end of  ‘really all the same.’  I have to say though, we stayed somewhere this weekend that we all liked so much, I needed to blog about it.

Editor’s Note: Sorry for the long winded-ness of this, but its hard to capture in a few words what a wonderful experience we had at this B&B. It may not be the right place for a ‘normal feis weekend’ but was wonderful for us, and it is definitely the right place for a non-feis family, or just the parents, weekend getaway.

IMG_20130914_111705

The blue coffee pot, no wires, no plugs, good coffee.

Amanda’s Bequest Bed and Breakfast is a hidden treasure. Located in Montague, about 30 minutes north of Muskegon, it is not your typical feis hotel, and that is probably why we loved it so much. We were greeted late Friday night by Valerie, the proprietor, and chief cook and bottle washer, and upon first meeting, she seemed like any typical B&B owner. She did the typical registration thing, and then gave us a quick tour of the home (which had been built in the late 1800’s), with its eclectic furnishings and large kitchen, which reminded me very much of my grandmothers kitchen in Ireland when I visited her as a child.

Valerie had asked about dietary restrictions when we made the reservations, and we told her of TGC’s nut allergies, and that TMC (the male child) had gluten sensitivities, and when she showed us our room for the weekend, she pointed out the nut-free fruit strudel and gluten free brownies she had prepared, and had waiting in our room as a welcoming snack.  If you know anyone who is gluten free, you know how hard it is to find something that tastes good,  but after we got settled, TMC tried the brownie, and as he tried the first bite, he asked, speaking of Valerie,  ‘do you think she would think it weird if I gave her a hug’?

IMG_20130914_105337

Peach jam sitting on the antique stove.

Before settling in, we told Valerie that we would have to be up and out early, and that she did not need to worry about breakfast. She told us that we were the only guests for Friday night, and she would gladly prepare an early breakfast for us. We were grateful, because you all know how hard it is to get a decent breakfast on a feis morning.

Saturday morning I got cleaned up and went to the kitchen to find Valerie, in a dress and apron, making breakfast.  When I asked about the dress and apron, since she had met us in more casual attire the night before, she told me that it was the proper way to serve guests, and considering the style of the home, I literally felt like I had walked back in time. Maybe it was the homemade jars of jams and vegetables spread throughout the kitchen, or the old stove and blue coffee pot heated on the flame of the stove, or the woman in the dress and apron cooking breakfast, but it was all oddly comforting.

IMG_20130914_105438

Breakfast day 1

The table was set with an array of mis-matched china that added to the charm. Yogurt with honey and fresh fruit, and a little granola for the wife and I, but not the kids considering their allergies, hard boiled eggs, home-made banana bread and toast (both regular and home made gluten-free), peach jam (home made of course), bananas, orange juice, water, coffee and butter. What a spread, so much nicer than hotel fare, but that was just the half of it. After the yogurt, Valerie brought in plates of biscuits and gravy, with homemade biscuits, including gluten free for TMC, and she had even improvised the gravy recipe to be gluten free. It included scrambled eggs and salsa that had started in the garden the day before. It was all excellent, and, this is embarrassing for someone whose Mum taught him to always clean his plate, but I couldn’t, there was simply to much wonderful food. Oh, and did I tell you the eggs came from the chickens in the back yard? True story. We also met John, the other half of the team, who keeps the physical condition of the home up to par, but Saturday, he kept an eye on us during breakfast and made sure our coffee was topped off and that we were not in need of anything.

Vegetable from the garden that eventually became fresh salsa.

Vegetables from the garden that eventually became fresh salsa.

We went to the feis, spent a few hours at the music festival, and came back to find Valerie and John. We chatted a bit, and got recommendations for dinner.  I noticed fresh jars of plum jam Valerie had made because I had commented I hadn’t tried the peach since I had had an allergic reaction to peaches as a child. She told me she just happened to have plums that she needed to use anyway. Wow.

We returned after dinner to an empty house, so we all went outside to see the chicken, ducks and rabbits in the backyard. We must have spent 45 minutes out there and both the kids loved watching and taking pictures of the animals.

After our time outside we went in and sat in the parlor where TGC checked out the View-Master, a toy from my childhood, while TMC played the piano. Both kids were a little disappointed the jigsaw puzzle had already been completed, and my wife sat on the floor playing with an antique pinball machine. I just sat, and took it all in.

Other guests arrived and we all went outside to see about starting a fire in the fire pit. Thankfully Valerie and John soon returned, and shortly we were all gathered around a nice fire. John brought out beer and wine and we told stories, shared parenting tips, tried to get recipes out of Valerie and just relaxed. The kids hung out with us too, joining in the conversation occasionally. Thinking back, I hardly saw a cell phone come out of a pocket while we were out there.

Breakfast the next morning was basically a repeat of day 1. It started with strawberries and watermelon from the garden, and a warm slice of Depression Era Apple Pie topped with a slice of locally made cheddar cheese. TMC got his own gluten free mini version of the pie. Valerie had talked about how popular this pie was and even has classes just for making it, and she had shared a few of the ingredients around the fire the night before. It was wonderful, and I could taste the flavor layers she had talked about. That would have been enough for breakfast by itself, but that was not to be. Large plates of ‘breakfast bake’ (think of quiche on steroids, gluten free option was also available), fried potatoes, bacon, fresh salsa, and all the extras I listed on day one. Once again, my Mum would not be pleased as I sent back the plate with food still remaining. John kept us topped off with coffee and whatever else we needed, and both him and Valerie checked in on us while we ate.

This is either Larry, Moe or Curly, captured digitally by TMC.

This is either Larry, Moe or Curly, captured digitally by TMC.

After breakfast, the kids enjoyed watching the rabbits, chickens and ducks get the ‘scraps’ and we all laughed as the birds had a dessert of meal worms. And have you ever seen a rabbit hop off with a slice of toast in its mouth? Funny stuff, but not quite as funny as watching two chickens chase a moth. The kids took more pics, learned a little about the different types of birds from Valerie as she fed them, and TGC got a chance to pet the rabbits as they were being fed. TMC also got some pics of the deer that seemed to be ever present on the perimeter of the grounds, literally just yards away.

Shortly thereafter, we packed the car and TMC got that hug from Valerie he had wondered about on Friday night. We told them that we were making verbal reservations for next year for the feis and festival weekend, and after we bought some jam, we were on our way.

So why the long story? From the time we got there on Friday night, till the time we got home on Sunday night, the kids had about 20 minutes of TV. Sure, they had their phones, but a lot of the time when they had them out, they were taking pictures of animals, or people, or other cool things, and they weren’t constantly texting their friends or Facebooking. We all learned some history, facts about nature, how to enjoy the simple things like when us ‘grown ups’ were kids, and gained a new appreciation for basic, wholesome cooking, and we laughed and just enjoyed being a family. I think we will start waiting to long to make reservations more often, never know where it might lead.

 

Michigan (Muskegon) Feis 2013

/2 Comments/in , , /by

The Michigan Feis was held on September 14th, 2013 at the Muskegon Catholic Central High School in Muskegon, Michigan.

This is the second review for this feis. To see last years review, look here.

Venue – This is the third time we have done a feis at Muskegon Catholic and unlike some of the other feiseanna located in schools, we like this feis.

There were 4 stages in different areas of the school, 2 in one gym, 1 in the auditorium on the schools auditorium stage, and the PC/OC stage in another gym at the far end of the school. If by chance you had dancers on stages 3 or 4 and one of the other stages, especially stage 1 (OC/PC) you probably did not enjoy the layout as much, since dances moved quickly and it was a few minute walk between the stages.

Stage size was excellent and as far as I could tell were about 32 x 32 feet each. Stages 3 and 4 were about 20 feet apart, so there was plenty of room around the stages and plenty of chairs for the dancers to wait for their dances.

I saw one fall, and I did not see any floor cleanup or mopping, but we were there only a short time and left before lunch, so there may have been stage maintenance done.

Seating in the gyms used the gym bleachers and seemed adequate. The auditorium used auditorium seating and was also fine. Camping was in the bleachers, and in the hallways, and although some of the halls got a little tight in spots, it wasn’t bad.

Results were down the hall, half way to stage 1, and awards were in the hallway at the front of the building, so that wasn’t as convenient as other feiseanna where they are right next to each other, but it wasn’t horrible.

Parking was adequate, but the lots near the door, as you would imagine, filled up quickly. We got their at 9ish and ended up parking around the building, and had a 5 minute walk to the front door. There was a drop zone where a parent and the dancer could be dropped off to avoid the walking.

Vendors were in the hallway between stages 3 and 4 at the front of the building, and stage 2 half way down the hallway to stage 1. There were only a few vendors and they tucked themselves up against the wall pretty well. George the shoe guy set up in a side hall, and didn’t block pedestrian flow at all.

Venue Score: 8  

Judges – The girl child danced 3 times and was judged by 1 judge. Not great but TGC rotated through all her dances REALLY fast, and I do not see how they could have rotated all stages that quickly.

If I knew all judges were completely objective, and used the same baseline to judge all comps, 1 judge would be OK. I do feel however, they should try to get at least 2 judges to see each age comp, so dancers have a more chances, even if the judging is unintentionally subjective. NOTE: I am not insinuating the judging at this feis was subjective.

Judge Score: 6.5

Music – Each stage had their own musician which is always the best way to do it. We are in the gym with stages 3 and 4, and from where I was sitting, there was a lot of music bleed over between the stages. I asked TGC what she thought and she said she had a hard time hearing the music on stage, and that the left was better than the right. She also said she saw the judge signaling that she could not hear very well.

Musician Score: 7

Food – Wasn’t there for lunch so I am not going to score this, but a cursory glance and it looked like the same set up as last year.

Food Score: NA

Vendors –  I only saw George from Ballinvilla, the hair stuff lady and the tshirt guy. This is the Irish Music Festival Feis though and there is LOTS of vendors if you go to the festival. A little lame for a feis though.

Vendor Score: 6 

Results – WOW! Best I have even seen. From the end of the dance to the wall, less than 10 minutes. For one, I would say it was around 5 minutes. It is a FeisWorx feis, but results were not posted there, although it really did not matter unless you didn’t want to walk down the hall.

Results Score: 10

Feis Flow – Excellent! We started dancing at 1115 and were done with 3 dances and had results in less than an hour. Age comps were kept together so there was only one or two dances between each of TGC’s dances. Moved really quick. Mix that with the quick results… outstanding.

Feis Flow Score: 10

Scoring

Remember, scoring is in 2 parts, the feis score consisting of Judges, Music, Results and Flow and then the overall WTF rating for all items.

Feis Score – 8.375  (which really benefited from the results and flow scores).

And the WTF Rating – a 7.92

What did you think?

[poll id=”16″]

Muskegon Feis Eats

/0 Comments/in , , /by

If you head up to the Muskegon Feis I have to recommend an eclectic breakfast place we stumbled across called Toast N Jams. Retro styling in side, nice menu, great food and reasonably priced. One of those local gems you really oughta try.

Michigan (Muskegon) Feis Review

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Michigan Feis was held on September 15, 2012 at Muskegon Catholic Central High School, Muskegon, MI.

Venue – Although spread out a little, the Muskegon Catholic Central High School was a pretty good feis venue.

Four stages spread throughout the school provided plenty of room for dancers and viewers. I spent most of my time in the gym where stages 3 and 4 were, and they were good size with lots of room between. There seemed to be plenty of seating in the bleachers for parents and friends. Another of the stages was in the auditorium and was well lit and had plenty of seating. Afraid I did not look at the 4th stage.

Camping spots were limited but everyone seemed to find a spot and there was a ‘less crowded’ feel to the venue then other recent ones.

Parking was ok, but it filled up quickly and things got a little tight. We were in at 930 and found a spot on the outer edges. I assume as the early crowd started rolling out, more and more spots opened up a little later in the morning.

One WTF Fan (well, reader anyway) who I saw at the feis did comment about limited bathrooms, and I said I would mention it. There were some close to the stage we were on, so I had no complaints.

Venue Score: 8

Judges – My daughter danced four dances and was judged by two different judges, one for her first three dances. Sorry, that is a poor rotation.

I mentioned it to feis volunteers and it got back to the feis coordinator immediately and she was very proactive getting it resolved asap, but I still feel the rotation was not well planned. The judges on the stage we were on rotated once in the morning session, and it was before we got to the stage, so I would have to say many girls were judged by the same judge for all their dances. Between me mentioning it, and the lunch break, we did get a different judge for the last dance.

Judge Score: 3

Music – Each stage had their own musicians, always good. Our stage musician did take several breaks. Since I have become use to those huge bladder judges the last few feises, who hardly take breaks,  I have to knock the score down a little for this one.

Musician Score: 8

Food – Cafeteria food, pizza, sandwiches, donuts, candy, soda, etc… all reasonably priced. My son commented that the pizza didn’t look good but tasted great, so, no complaints. Could have used a little more variety (especially since you had an Irish Festival just down the street… hint, hint).

Food Score: 7.5

Vendors – A feis tshirt guy, and George the shoe guy… always there. They also had a few other vendors, nothing awesome. I have to say though, with all the vendors at the Music Festival, having any of them show up at the feis is probably most difficult.

Vendor Score: 7

Results – Well done, but with a twist. They were posted a bit slowly, but it seemed that the awards table had them much faster. DD placed in an event and after it was posted, she went to get the award, and they gave her another award for a dance she placed in only minutes earlier, whose results had not been posted yet. That was pretty quick.

The other big kudo is that they passed out summarized sheets with all results, and judges comments, shortly after the dancers last dance. I very seldom see that.

Overall great, but not near perfect because of the slower postings.

Results Score: 9

Feis Flow – I thought this feis was well run. They kept the age group dances fairly close together, which unfortunately impacted on judging a little (see slow rotation note), and they had a lunch break that went a bit long, but otherwise, great job.

Feis Flow Score: 9

And the WTF Rating – not bad with a WTF Rating is 7.36.