Louisville Feis 2014, Grades Review

Posted by:Mellie WilkesonJune 22, 2014   0 Comments

louisvilleThe Louisville Feis was held June 21, 2014 in the South Wing A of the Kentucky Exposition Center. The McClanahan School has hosted the Louisville Feis for 18 years. The feis is sponsored by The Greater Louisville Irish Cultural Society, Inc. This year was an excellent example of why it is an enduring feis tradition in the region.

Venue

The Kentucky Exposition Center is enormous. It is home to several different buildings and structures. The Louisville Cardinal stadium, Kentucky Kingdom, and Freedom Hall are all located within it’s boundaries. The feis was housed in South Wing A. Once we located South Wing A, we were good to go. Please see Parking for my suggestions for next year. This was fine example of a well run convention center feis. South Wing A is a large convention hall. It was well lit and clean. The bathrooms were large, clean, and well marked. They were also well stocked the entire feis. The only areas congested were around the stages. Everywhere else was easily traversed. Each stage also had their own marked camping area. Restricted areas and No Camping areas were maintained and respected by attendees, from what we observed. There were also several expansive, open areas for practicing. The feis also offered discount Kentucky Kingdom tickets for attendees. The parking fee, paid at the gate, covered both the feis and amusement park for the day.

8 out of 10

Vendors

There were several vendors present at the feis. The variety was unexpected, with the local artisans really supporting the feis en masse. A third of the vendors were crafters or artisans. No Smarties or UK Cadbury bars, unfortunately. The vendors including the following:

  • Made by Mare
  • Dance shoes
  • Craft bottle lights
  • Irish doo dahs
  • Dancer wigs and doo dahs
  • Custom glass and metal artwork
  • Ireland theme children book seller
  • Custom soap maker
  • Paint your own canvas
  • Raffle
  • Refeis the Dress

8 out of 10

Food

The food selection was very limited at this feis. A feis volunteer let me know one of their food vendors did not show up. This pushed all the stages back more than 30 minutes for the scheduled lunch break. The feis did not want to release everyone for lunch until there were options for attendees. Several families ate packed lunches in their vehicles. Ash Wilkes purchased his afternoon feis coffee. He was most pleased. He was also more pleasant for the remainder of the feis.

The food and drinks were also quite pricey, $3.75 for a bottle of soda pop, $3.75 for a medium coffee. There was an ice cream vendor, a beverage vendor, and hotdogs etc.

After lunch, we overheard many complaints of indigestion, regarding the hot dogs.

3 out of 10

Judging

Judging was a jumbled carpet bag. 2 little darlings danced all of their competitions for the same judge. It worked to the benefit of one darling and to the detriment of the other. Our other two darlings danced for a different judge each of their soft shoe dances. They appeared to stop rotating the judges after lunch, since they danced their hard shoe for the same judge. If they had continued rotating them after lunch, my score would have been a 9.

7 out of 10

Stages

The stages well spaced and curtained. they were not raised. Duct taped plywood on a grid of 2×2’s, from what we could see. The feis volunteers did clean them at lunch break, and at signs of them becoming slippery.

Good speakers were stationed at the front corners of the stages. This kept music overflow to a minimum. Each stage had adequate stage seating for viewing. There was an enormous amount of room for camping by each stage.

7 out of 10

Music

This feis showcased some of the most talented, versatile, and accommodating feis musicians I have had the pleasure of witnessing. Delays were handled professionally. They were in control of their music, tempo, and had speaker volume control. Many of them were encouraging to the dancers, in addition to playing the required music with enthusiasm and skill. A few of them did experience challenges with the sound systems in place. The wiring was not in their control. Fiddles and accordions were spaced well apart. Stage music overflow occurred only a couple of times, that we noticed. It was handled with surprising speed.

9 out of 10

Parking

There was an $8 parking fee to enter any gate pf the Kentucky Expo Center. There was plenty of parking outside the South Wing Hall. Everyone paid the same price to park. If you wanted to avoid the parking fee, there was a shuttle service from the feis hotel, for hotel guests. For future reference, the gate across from the Louisville International Airport is the most direct route to the feis hall. Otherwise, you could be driving quite a distance on the one way loop around the expo center. Just trust me, it is a large loop. Try to avoid it. Just trust me on this one.

8 out of 10

Results

Speed for awards seemed dependent on the stage. Average was 20 minutes. Some stages were longer, others within 10 minutes. Volunteers were plentiful, industrious, and helpful. They were well connected with radios and well marked in WORKHORSE shirts of red and blue. The feis also provided comments for all dancers. Champs received their comments at awards. All other results were posted on a wall, toward the front of the convention hall.

There seems to be a trend with Mid America feisanna to go small with awards. From first feis to open champion, they all received the same medals for individual placements. I did not see any treble reels, so I do not know what was given for those competitions. 4th and 5th place received printed, colored ribbons. Beginners received a stuffed horse and purple beginner ribbon. This made the feis for the little dancers. At least from what scenes of bouncing and squealing I witnessed when passing the awards table. Prizewinner level dancers received small pedestal medallion trophies for 1st place. Champ awards were not posted. They were announced at a separate area, on a raised stage. It was also where the flags were posted and anthems were sung. Champs received boxed gifts for overall placements. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd received sashes. Champs received Medals for individual shoe placings.

6 out of 10

Feis Flow

As with results postings, this seemed to be dependent on the stage. The stage two our little darlings were on most of the day moved quickly. It wrapped up just after 2pm. Other stages were still running after 3pm. The feis was comp,eted with competitions at close to 4pm. Stages and vendors were tearing down at 4:15pm. Results were still ongoing at the champion awards stage. The feis was, overall, organized and well run.

The WORKHORSES of the Lousiville Feis certainly did themselves proud. They “ran” an excellent race. Very well done. The Wilkes family plans to attend the Louisivlle Feis in 2015.

10 out of 10

Overall Score: 7 out of 10

And What Did Y’all Think?

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non-feis eat, pay, drive tshirt sighting

Posted by:What The FeisonJune 18, 2014   0 Comments

epdGoofyThe first person to buy a tshirt sent me an awesome picture. Admittedly, it is not the first epd tshirt pic I have received. The first was from a good friend who sent it via FB but I could not retrieve it to post it elsewhere.

This pic however, sets a new standard in epd tshirt appearances. Click the thumbnail for the full view.

Thanks to Jamison for sharing! Enjoy the rest of your vacation.  :)

Indianapolis Feis 2014, PC/OC Feis Review

Posted by:What The FeisonJune 16, 2014   4 Comments

indyBanner

The Indianapolis Feis was held on June 14th, 2014 at the Indiana State Fair Grounds Exposition Center. This is the second time we have attended the Indy Feis, although this year it was held at a new venue.

Venue

This was the first time the feis was at this venue and there are mixed feelings from lots of people on it. It is a fairgrounds building with a concrete floor but it was big and fully enclosed and it was climate controlled, unlike another fair grounds building we all know, but I wont go there right now ;)

The provided a nice map of the venue that might be a good reference.

Stages and Seating

There were 6 stages made of plywood, and the one that I mentally measured was a very good size at 32 x 32. That was a PC/OC stage and I cannot say if the grades stages were the same size.

Being plywood, there was the traditional issues that go along with that type floor. I saw one fall and numerous slips on the stage I was viewing. The feis committee did mop the stage during lunch however, so they tried to keep up with maintenance.

Seating wasn’t bad, and I never saw all the chairs full on the stage we were on. There were those that decided that chairs were better suited for their gear, and on some stages, people actually took some of the chairs and formed them into their own little camping area. You know my thoughts on this topic, but this time, other feis goers captured the event in a photo. smh

Camping and Access

Camping wasn’t horrible, admittedly no where near the best I had seen either, but they tried. Seems like each stage had an area behind the viewers seats so people could stow gear, and the far end of the venue and along the outer walls had more areas, so you could probably find a place to park your gear.

Access in general was pretty good. I found the main issue was people standing in the aisles between the viewers chairs to watch the comps. You could usually find another way around through.

Awards and Results

Both Awards and Results were along one wall on the side of the venue, out of the way but still convenient to get to.

There were chairs for viewers in the champs results area which not all feiseanna do, so that was good. They did have room, and probably could have used more chairs there. I was also a little disappointed to see a few dancers held chairs with their solo dresses, so some of the parents had to stand to see results.

Parking

Lots of parking, but not all close. There was a $5 charge for parking which was a surprise to us and apparently to other attendees. Not that $5 is a big cost, but if you are not expecting it, and don’t have cash, it can be an annoyance.

Other

One other thing I heard complaints about was the directions on the feis site. I did not use them but heard some complaints from those that did, that the directions could have had some more details.

And speaking of finding the feis, if you tell your GPS 1202 W 38th instead of 1202 E 38th, you will end up at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, a lovely building and grounds. Just trust me on this one :(

Judges

3 Judges, attentive and pretty good comments considering the size of some of the comps I saw. No complaints.

Music

OK, here is where I heard the most complaints. Each stage had their own musician, which is always good because shared musicians tend to cause delays. Not the musicians themselves mind you, but the stages waiting to get caught up or to catch up as the case may be.

More than one dancer on the stage we were on complained about the tempo of  some of the music, and also the ability to hear it. As a viewer, I could hear music from everywhere so I could understand how the dancers might have issues. TGC had a start issue on one of her dances, and that has never been an issue for her (not making excuses, just commenting on the music).

I also saw a musician play the wrong song. The dancers danced anyway, and it was not until the 1st set of dancers had nearly finished their steps that the judges realized what was going on and stopped them. They were able to redo their dance.

Not sure what the problem was, might be a musician thing, but I can’t help but wonder if the acoustics in the Expo Center contributed to the issues.

Food

There were three food stands, but it appeared that two were not as fully equipped as the third. You could get drinks, corndogs and few other items at all three, but if you wanted grill items you needed to stand in the long line for the third stand.

Prices seemed very reasonable but I cannot speak to the quality as we did not eat at the venue.

Vendors

The usual suspects. If you have been to a Mid-America feis you know who they are. There was some nic nacs and non-feis swag on top of the typical feisessities (feis necessities). You can see the vendor list here. Oh, and if you follow me on Facebook, you already know there were Irish M&Ms :)

Results

Results for PC/OC, for TGC’s comp anyway, were out in about 75 minutes, which has been close to the norm. The awards were off to one side of the venue, behind the stages and the vendors. There were chairs for viewers as mentioned above, but there was room for more and they needed them. Lots of younger dancers sitting on the floor between the chairs and the podium, and lots of people standing behind the chairs.

At most PC/OC feis I have attended, the hard and soft shoe results are announced first, followed by the overall standings. They did it the opposite way here, announcing the overall first, and then the hard shoe and soft shoe results. And they did not allow time for the dancers to leave the podium between overall and the ‘shoes’, so you had a number of dancers standing there, kind of awkwardly.

I prefer when they announce the ‘shoes’ first personally. It gives an idea of how your dancer might have placed overall and you can prepare mentally a bit better ;)

Feis Flow

The flow was great. I heard a few comments that comps on a few stages, were moving along and from start to finish for us was less than 2 hours. Kudos on keeping it moving.

Scoring

Kind of torn on scoring. If we had been in last years venue, I think overall the feis would have faired much better. But, the venue issues combined with the music issues and I am afraid I would have to give this years feis somewhere around 6.5 to 7. We will be back though!

What did you think?

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A Tribute to Feis Dads, Father’s Day 2014

Posted by:What The FeisonJune 14, 2014   0 Comments

dadsAs I drove home from the Indianapolis Feis, I thought it was about time to write another blog post for my Antonio Pacelli blogging gig. What better than to write a small tribute to the Feis Dad’s out there on their weekend, and why not post it on AP so it can reach a wider audience. Even though the whole world isn’t having Father’s Day this weekend, it is still appropriate since Feis Dad is a 24/7/365 kind of thing.

So, without further ado, go read my Tribute to Irish Dance Dads. And Dads, thanks for all you do and Happy Father’s Day!

Hurley School Feis, 2014 Review

Posted by:Mom O'ThreeonJune 11, 2014   2 Comments

Hurley-Feis-Logo_Basia2_vectorized-300x292The 1st Annual Hurley School Feis was held at The Showplace Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD on may 25th, 2014.

Venue

A horse arena. Yes, I said horse arena. When we pulled into the parking lot we were immediately greeted by a parking attendant who promptly showed us where to park. The arena was large with several layers of stadium seating. Very spacious with plenty of room to spread out. There were several rows between each family. On the main floor were 8 stages, 3 champ and 5 grades (switching occurred later in the day). Each stage had its own musician and there were only a few stages stopped for small amounts of time. Surprisingly, the music was easy to hear when the stages were so close to each other. Competitions ran roughly to schedule, with some running early. Hands down the best part was the abundance of bathrooms. During multiple trips during the day, there was never a line. I have never seen this before, but it was a welcome surprise. Very helpful parent volunteers. Overall a very nice venue – which included a nice hamstring workout lugging feis gear up several flights of stairs in the stadium seating.  Did I mention no lines for the bathrooms?

Overall score: 10

Food

Typical feis food, but plenty of it. Multiple places to buy the arena’s food plus a Dippin Dots cart and Italian Ice cart. There was also an adult concession area. Trust me, if I wasn’t driving, I would have been in there taste testing.

Overall score: 9

Vendors

Typical vendors with an added embroidery vendor and the always cute Curly Girlz vendor. Who can resist a tiny image of your solo dress?

Overall score: 9

Judges

Rotating stages for grades dancers, so they never had the same judge which is good.

Overall score: 8

Results

Grade results were posted on a level higher than the actual awards. Again – getting a good hamstring/ quad workout. When we arrived to pick up some hardware, we were told that they miscalculated the number of trophies needed, so they were out of the 1st place trophies. They did give my dancer an extra medal and smaller trophy to make up for the miscalculation. Champ awards were in a lovely area overlooking the arena. There were medal rounds for PC and OC. The trophies were large, sashes were nice and the podium placed 5 dancers. Beautiful place to get that special photograph with your happy dancer.

Overall rating: 9

(would have been 10 except for the miscalculations)

Feis Flow

Appeared to run very well for a first feis. Some stages were stopped for small amounts of time, but nothing too dramatic. From the schedule it looked like there would be many conflicts, but stage managers handled it well and kept the feis moving.

Overall score: 9

Overall score: 9.5

Would definitely return and we really enjoyed this feis

Whatcha think?

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UICANY Feis 2014, PC/OC Review

Posted by:Mom O'ThreeonJune 11, 2014   1 Comment

UICA LogoThe United Irish Counties Association of New York Inc. 76th Feis was held on June 8th, 2014 at Saunders Trades High School in Yonkers, NY.

Venue

The venue is a typical Mid-Atlantic high school with a twist. Small hallways, crowded stairwells, but it was a trade school, so we were able to admire the woodworking, auto mechanic and cosmetology information on the walls. There were about 75 parking spaces in the front of the school and quite the maze trying to figure out how to get to the two parking lots in the back of the school. Many locals at this feis, so they seemed to find the parking easily.  The auditorium was spacious with plenty of room to spread out. Early in the day, one of the volunteers locked one of the exit doors (thank goodness there wasn’t a fire!) which created an issue getting in from one side of the auditorium to the other (no path – had to climb over everyone or walk directly behind the judges). This is a very “old” feis, run by lovely elderly Irish enthusiasts. While these volunteers were always pleasant, a common answer to my questions were “I’m not sure”. Where are the awards? – I’m not sure. Where are the bathrooms? – I’m not sure. A friend had a daughter on the grades stages in the basement. She said that the temperature was “sweltering”. The auditorium was a pleasant temperature.

Overall grade: 7

Food

I am not sure – too crowded to get to it.

Judges

There were three of them :)

Musicians

One for champ stages, daughters said they had no issue hearing the music

Vendors

The typical vendors, shoes, headbands, socks, sock glue. I didn’t see anything special.

Results

The grades trophies appeared to be large, from the dancers carrying them around, but that is the highpoint. The awards for champs were in a small dark classroom in the basement. Once your time was posted, we were instructed to stand in the hall (not allowed in the room) until the scheduled time. This of course caused a big crowd in the hall near the vendors. Once allowed in, we crammed all dancers, parents and on lookers into the tiniest room while awards were called. No medal rounds for PC, only OC. No sashes, no podium and only one trophy for the 1st place winner. All other placers did receive a nice plaque though. Next, was a large picture taking session with many of the wonderful elderly volunteers who were very excited to take pictures with all of the dancers.

Overall rating: 5

Feis Flow

If you didn’t read the syllabus, you would be unaware that all adults would be charges $10 admission. This seemed to shock some people and the line to get in was quite long. The feis tried something new this year – mailing competitor cards ahead of time. It would have been helpful to tell people ahead of time, since the replacement line was long and only manned by two of the lovely elderly enthusiasts. By the third competition of the day, the feis was already 1 ¼ hours behind schedule. We did not stick around to see if competitions were moved or if they picked up in some way. The schedule for the feis did not come out until Friday night, late, after a social media outpouring from concerned parents – Facebook and Voy Boards. Apparently, this is unusual for this feis. Past years the feis posted the schedule early on Thursday.

Overall Rating: 4

Overall feis rating: 5.5

And you thought…?

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FeisNation

Posted by:What The FeisonJune 9, 2014   1 Comment

Haven’t had a new glossary term since the first one I posted months ago, but my reference to FeisNation in a FB post today prompted a follower to write a little ‘wiki’ on what that means, so without further ado… Hat tip to Karen for the definition :)

FeisNation

Feisnation: (definition) a growing group of the population. In public they appear completely normal other than a having a strange graphic applique on their vehicle that depicts what you think at first is a pole dancer but is actually an Irish Step Dancer in motion.

Feisnationers can be identified also by the fact that they are always seen on the same days each week, driving a child (or several) to and from an undisclosed location. On weekends they are rarely seen as this is when they gather in large groups, usually at a high school in another state, or sometimes a banquet venue at a hotel. The purpose of these gatherings is to assist their children in participation in what is known as a “feis” – a competition of Irish dancing, music and occasionally bread.

A true member of the “Feisnation” is highly skilled in many ways – they are pack horses, capable of carrying large loads, the most interesting item being a large triangular shaped bag which appears to carry some sort of weapon but is actually the container of the child’s dance costume. (The costume requires its own special container due to the high cost of the costume).

Feisnation parents will spend hours before the “feis” in preparation – googling locations on Mapquest, packing up the items required for the event such as dance shoes (2 pair), special white socks (some bedazzled, some plain), 5 pounds of bobby pins, large cans of hairspray, bloomers that match the costume, wigs, tiaras, headbands and a roll on applicator containing what is referred to as “sock glue” – necessary to keep the $25.00 socks from slipping down around the ankle while competing.

Many “feisnation” folks still conduct the ancient ritual of “curling” – which requires putting young girls’ hair in several dozen or more curlers the day before the event and then taking her out to dinner….in public. When the event is over, the same child may be seen at dinner again, with large curled waves and ringlets and smeared eye makeup. However if the child places a large trophy on the dinner table and is also wearing a “sash”, there is no need for concern. Feisnation gatherings will disperse late in the day with volunteers clearing up all signs that the event ever took place.

Well, I screwed up…

Posted by:What The FeisonJune 9, 2014   0 Comments

I made a mistake. I need a minimum order to get the quick turnaround for my tshirts and I am about 4 – 5 shirts short on each of three designs.

So, extending my order deadline from tonight to tomorrow night (Tuesday, 6/10) at 9pm EST, and if you order a ‘feis mom circle’, ‘irish dance parent circle’ or ‘irish dance sibling circle’ design tshirt from https://whatthefeis.com/eat-pray-love-parody-tshirts/ you can use the coupon code wtfscrewedup for a $3 discount (those designs only).

I have temporarily hidden some other designs to try to help keep this from happening again.

Can you help? Thanks

If I get enough to fill the minimums, I will have them in hand this week, otherwise there may be a slight delay in shipping.

Categories: Shop     

McGrath Feis 2014 Review

Posted by:Feis Mom X2onJune 9, 2014   0 Comments

An after the fact review from a new contributor, but anything we can post that might help others is fine with me. Thanks Feis Mom X2!

The McGrath Feis was held on March 30th, 2014 at Osbourn Park High School in Manassas, VA.

The Good

  • Lots of really great competition
  • Excitement in the air
  • Nice medals, overly generous with the numbers given (placements up to 9th
  • Centrally located, easy to get to

The Bad

  • Uncomfortable bleachers to sit and camp on
  •  One set of musicians for 6 stages….slowed things down to a snail’s pace
  • Registration on opposite end of stages
  • Medal Room on opposite side of results posting
  • Awarding PC and OC awards in the lobby created a huge traffic jam

The Hopeful

  • First Feis — will be improved
  • A Feis this big (950+) has to improve in order to keep attracting new dancers
  • There are many venues in the Manassas area (Patriot HS?) that are newer and more comfortable

Did you go to  the McGrath Feis? How would you rate it?

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

Detroit Feis 2014, Grades Review

Posted by:Mam rince na hÉireannonJune 9, 2014   0 Comments

The 2014 Detroit International Feis was held on Saturday, June 7th at the Ultimate Soccer Arena in Pontiac, Michigan

Venue

Huge, open space to hold a Feis. There were 4 stages set aside for the grades and there was ample spacing between each so that music didn’t bleed over and confuse the dancers. There was plenty of space set aside for camping and bleacher seating was always available when sought out. My only suggestion would be to set up a few practice areas with a flat/dance friendly surface. It was difficult for my dancer to warm up and run through her dances on the turf areas and the rolled out temporary surfaces that covered the turf areas.

Parking

The parking lot was large and parking was free. We arrived an hour after the Feis started and were able to park in the 3rd row right in front of the doors. I did notice when we were leaving for the day that an arena employee was out front with a giant golf cart “limo” offering rides to families if they so desired. Nice touch!

Feis Flow

For the size of the Feis and the amount of competitors, I think it went really fast even though we were there until 4:30. We really enjoyed an actual lunch break with time to rest and regroup in between soft and hard shoe dances. Our stage was very timely and there were no real lulls in the dancing except for a 10 minute break when the musician needed to run to the endless line in the bathroom!

Judges

5 judges for 5 dances. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Results/Awards

I will admit I was very leery of how this would all play out because this Feis doesn’t split grades until numbers in a comp reach 30 and with some comps reaching 28, I thought there would be a lot of tears across the board with so few having the opportunity to place. I was pleased to learn that the Feis committee required the judges to place at least half of the total comp numbers regardless of how small or large they were. Medals were awarded 1-5 place and ribbons were given for 6 and 7 place winners. We have a rule studio wide that results are not to be checked until the end of all your dances so I can’t speak to how quickly the results were posted on the wall but they showed up on Feisworx within 10 -15 minutes of the completed dance. I was able to show the awards staff my daughters HP results via Feisworx before it was posted on the wall and we were able to collect all her medals and leave before it came out from the results room.

Food

Total disaster for anyone who attempted to order from the concession stands. They were completely overwhelmed and could not keep up with the throngs of families that all showed up during the lunch break. I spoke with people who waited over an hour for their food that never was produced. Lots of people were issued refunds and were not able to eat. The venue did not allow outside food or coolers to be brought in but didn’t really enforce it. Saw lots of people eating picnic lunches in the camping areas and also several who gave up on the concessions and made a run down the street to the corner to one of the several fast food restaurants located there. We had ample time to eat our lunch and snacks that we packed and enjoyed the break outside in the sun on the front lawn.

Vendors

Standard Feis fare. Nothing out of the ordinary there. I will say that I did like the choices and the prices for the Feis T-shirts being sold at the registration table.

Summary

This was one of our favorite Feisanna to date. I am very glad we decided to give this one a try and we will definitely go back next year! On a side note: I have been told that the Feis committee is reevaluating their split policy for next year. I hope they lower it to the more customary 24 split guideline most follow.

What Did You Think?

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