Shamrock Soaps Giveaway Winners Announced!

Posted by:What The FeisonNovember 7, 2014   0 Comments

1ed128b7fc8fa39c72b9bf9e1b900768Congratulations to the winners of the Shamrock Soaps Giveaway! They are (names as listed in the original comments):

  • DancerMom
  • Bonnie
  • Michelle

Heather from Shamrock Soaps has your email and will be in touch on how to collect your prize.

Congratulations Winners!

Missed the contest? Be sure to check out Shamrock Soaps! They have a line of  body products locally made in Wisconsin. With a line for Irish Dancers, and products for their support teams (aka us), I think you will find something you like, I did!. You can find the site at Shamrock Soaps and can purchase on line at Shamrock Soaps on Etsy. They are also on Facebook at Shamrock Soaps. read more

Cincinnati Feis 2014 Grades, A Second Opinion…

Posted by:Kelly RylandonNovember 4, 2014   2 Comments

Kelly took the time to capture her insight in a review, and even though we already had a Cinci Grades review, I feel all inputs could provide something valuable to our readers, so without further ado, The Cinci Feis, A Second Opinion.

Cincinnati-Feis-LogoFullFeis Info

The 31st annual Cincinnati Feis was held at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center on November 2nd, 2014.  This feis was broken up on 2 floors with food, most vendors, camping, and champ comps on the first floor.  The 2nd floor hosted grade comps, grades results/ awards, tshirts, used dresses, and a really sweet little spot for selfies and photos. read more

Feis Culkin 2014 Grades Review

Posted by:Corabelle ColbertonNovember 3, 2014   1 Comment

Corabelle has done a few grades reviews for us and I am sad to report she will no longer be doing them, BECAUSE HER GC MOVED UP TO PC!!! CONGRATS CC’s GC! Looking forward to your PC reviews!

logo_triskele_gobo_400x400Feis Culkin was held on Sunday, November 2, 2014 beginning at 8:30 am. The feis is held at the Maryland Discovery Sports Center in Boyds, Maryland. Boyds is located about 30 miles northwest of DC. For those traveling and in need of a hotel, towns to stay in include Germantown, Gaithersburg and Fredericksburg. This year the feis fell the day after Daylight Savings Time ended and I think the dancers and parents were happy for an extra hour of sleep (or getting ready!) before a feis read more

Cincinnati Feis 2014 Grades Review

Posted by:JeannetteonNovember 3, 2014   3 Comments

Cincinnati-Feis-LogoFullThe 31st Annual Cincinnati Feis was held on November 2, 2014 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, KY. This is the 1st time we have attended this feis, and overall, we had a pleasant experience. This review is mainly aimed at the Grades experience at this feis. As this feis divided grades by age (with younger dancers in the morning session & older dancers in the afternoon), we attended only the morning grades session, so this review covers only that piece of things.

Venue

The feis was held at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. The venue is connected to the Cincinnati Riverwalk Marriott, and the feis secured a relatively reasonable rate for attendees. read more

Custom-dress Regret Anxiety and Panic Syndrome (CRAPS)

Posted by:Patty O'BenchonNovember 2, 2014   0 Comments

An in-depth look at something that, at one time or another, will affect us all, from new contributor, Patty O’Bench.

1513fad900fc46de1bd9a6e5036bb4d0Have you put a deposit down on a solo dress? Are you checking email obsessively hoping for a photo or a FedEx tracking number? Do you worry endlessly that you’ve made a big mistake and you should have forked out the extra money for a Gavin?

You might be suffering from Custom-dress Regret Anxiety and Panic Syndrome or CRAPS. The symptoms of CRAPS change with each stage but might include the following: read more

Rince Na h’Eireann Charlotte Feis 2014 Review

Posted by:Maeve SayersonNovember 2, 2014   0 Comments

3948211The RNE Charlotte Feis was held on October 25th, 2014 at the Hilton Hotel in the UNC Charlotte are and was held in memory of Brian Quinlivan and what a great memorial it was to him. This is always a favorite feis because of the venue, the draw of the competitors from the region and the awards.

Venue and Food

This feis took place at the Hilton Hotel in the UNC Charlotte area. Since this venue is in the middle of a retail complex, there was plenty of parking for the number of people attending as well as plenty of restaurants within walking distance so you weren’t locked into the typical hotel food. read more

Harvest Time Feis 2014 PC/OC Review

Posted by:MIss Feisy PantsonOctober 30, 2014   0 Comments

The Harvest Time Feis was held at Burlington High School in Burlington, Massachusetts on October 26, 2014.

Venue

Burlington High school- we got there a bit earlier this time around 11. Parking was a zoo, it is a huge lot and if you didn’t plan on a long walk and extra time this could be stressful. Again, I am not used to this size feis, which was bigger then Saturday, so maybe the natives would take it in stride.

The stages were spread out upstairs and down and finding a spot to put your things was a great challenge. I settled in a cleared out gym only to be told they were closing it and everyone had to leave in 10 min. Our backpack was then put behind a door near a trash can. It was very crowded but you could go outside, which people did. Felt a bit squished. read more

Neponset Valley Feis 2014 PC/OC Review

Posted by:MIss Feisy PantsonOctober 30, 2014   0 Comments

logo4The 10th Annual Neponset Valley Feis was held at Walpole High School, Walpole, Massachusetts on October 25th, 2014.

This review is for Champ level comps. ( note: My daughter was in the prelim comp. and a friend who was traveling with me took notes on the Opens stages so those are included too)

Venue

This feis took place at Walpole high school. Parking was decent for the number of people attending. I can’t say whether grades were more crowded, my daughter danced at 3:15 so we got there post lunch. The prelim stages were 3 and were just one big rubber floor placed over the gym and separated by tape. On the wall were the numbers of the comps and they were taken down as each comp moved along. I didn’t hear any announcements to the next comp but the room was big so I may have missed it. bleacher seating no room for camping. We had a good amt of room to walk around, found a corner just outside the gym. could walk in and out of the building for air. the gym was super hot but outside was cool. it was uncomfortable for the dancers. The autorium was where opens were held and it was very hot also. They didn’t combine boys and girls in Opens. read more

Ryan-Kilcoyne Feis 2014, PC/OC Review

Posted by:Mom O'ThreeonOctober 30, 2014   1 Comment

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 MurphyonOctober 20, 2014   0 Comments

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