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Indianapolis Feis 2014, PC/OC Feis Review

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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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American Pride Feis 2013

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4-231x300The 1st Annual American Pride Feis was held on November 2, 2013 at the Embassy Suites Nashville – South/Cool Springs in Franklin, Tennessee.

Venue – From a hotel standpoint, it was great. For a feis venue, um, not so much, sorry. Not really a big fan of hotels as feis venues and this one was no exception.

The stages were in the big ballroom that had been divided into smaller rooms with partitions. Stage 1 was partitioned off by itself, Stages 2 & 3 shared a room as did 4 and 5 (someone fact check me on that one please, I really only peeked in and do not remember).

The stage sizes were not bad with the smaller ones (2 & 3) being about 20 x 20, 4 & 5 about 24 x 16, and 1 around 24 x 24. Stages 2 & 3 were combined for an actual area of 20 x 40ish with tape down the middle to divide them. Stages 4 & 5 may also have been combined (sorry, waited to long to write the review 🙁  ).

Stages 2 & 3 were used as one of the champ stages late morning so it provided a nice size stage for those comps.

Stage condition seemed good and I did not see any slips or falls. I do not recall any stage maintenance. (I really need to do these reviews right after the feis weekend or take better notes… jeez).

Seating for viewers was not adequate in my opinion, and the rooms were so tight, that standing off to the sides or in the back was very cramped, and only served to hinder traffic flow in the rooms. There was of course the issue with people camping in the viewing chairs, or should I say their stuff was camping, and one woman actually had a bit of a hissy fit when my family sat in ‘their chairs’ to watch the special at lunch time, even though they had not been in the room.

Side Note: Dear rude lady, there was no need to yank your coat off the chair from behind my wife. We are well mannered and gladly would have moved had you let us know we were in ‘your chairs.’

The hallways around the ballroom had the vendors, which inevitably cramped them all the more, and between those and support pillars in some areas, traffic congestion was bad, especially between the dance area and the results room which was around the corner.

Camping was not terrible, especially since the venue was also the feis hotel, but hallway camping is never sufficient, and there was really no area for personal chairs if you happened to bring them.

Parking, to be honest, I cannot comment on. We parked Friday night when we got to the hotel and did not leave the hotel until Saturday evening after the feis. If someone wants to weigh in on parking, feel free.

Venue Score: 5 –  Limited seating, cramped halls, conjoined stages, hotel feis, sorry, not a fan…

That however, is the only low feis score, and now for the highlights.

Judges – TGC had three dances and three judges. Can’t get any better.

Judge Score: 10

Musicians – Stage 2 & 3 shared a musician, 1 had its own musician, and I am assuming 4 & 5 shared one. Although I am not typically a fan of sharing musicians, I really did not see any issues with it on stages 2 & 3, and only twice did I witness a stage coming to a halt because of this. The partitions were sufficiently sound dampening so that bleed over was not an issue.

Musician Score: 8

Food – We did not eat any of the concession stand food but did buy canned sodas that were a bit pricey at $2 a piece. Can’t really rate this one sorry.

Food Score : NA

Vendors – Limited. George was there, and another shoe seller, wigs, tshirts and that was pretty much it. No fun Irish swag, just the feis necessities (feisessities?). There was a nice lady from Refeis That Dress, a solo dress consignment and rental service that I thought was a pretty nifty idea.

Vendor Score: 6

Results – The results and awards room was around the corner from the dance area (see note above about traffic flow, ugh), but that inconvenience does not take away from probably the best results turn-around I have seen. Out in hard copy on the wall in about 5 minutes for the ones I witnessed.

Awards were right next to the results wall, so it was very convenient. Plus, they had some unique trophies for 1st place Prizewinners.

Results Score: 10

Feis Flow – In general, I thought the feis flow was pretty good, but there was one incident that could have been handled a little better.

I noticed that the stages (well 2 & 3 anyway, I heard from a Mom that stage 1 dragged) were moving pretty quickly, and the schedule had a clear lunch break in dances on it. Well, at about 920 stage 3 posted check-in for one of the after lunch dances since they were moving so quickly. This really caused some confusion because 2 & 3 were slated to have champ dances on that combined stage before lunch, and for a while people, present company included, were in a panic because it really was not clear what was going on and dancers were not ready to compete if that checkin post was accurate. It took about 15 minutes to get it sorted out, but when they did, the rest of the day proceeded according to the original schedule and ran smoothly.

Feis Flow Score: 8

Scoring

Two part scoring with a Feis Score consisting of Judging, Music, Results and Flow, and then the overall consisting of everything.

Feis Score: 9 – Extremely respectable for an inaugural feis.

Overall Score: 7.83 – A better venue and a bigger variety of vendors and that would be higher, but still WELL DONE American Pride!

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North Coast Feis Review

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The North Coast Feis was held on February 2nd, 2013 at the IX Center in Cleveland, OH.

Venue – The IX Center was pretty good as a feis venue. The feis wasn’t in the main area of the IX Center, but instead, downstairs. Not fancy, and they seemed to have a little temperature issue in the champ area early afternoon (got very warm), but they got it worked out a bit later in the day.

Camping was not sufficient and viewer ‘bleed over’ into traffic areas was, as usual, an ‘annoyance’.

There were 7 stages labeled A – G, with G being the champ stage. It appeared to be a bit bigger compared to the other stages, which looked smallish to me (but I think they were 20 x 20). There was good separation between the stages though, and I didn’t really notice any of the ‘music confusion’ you get when stages are too close together. They seemed to be a little short on chairs for viewers, and probably could have used a few more per stage.

Parking was good, not all ‘close’, especially considering the snow, but plentiful.

Venue Score: 8.5

Judges – Really good judge rotation. Sometimes they would rotate twice between my daughters dances. She had 4 different judges for the 5 dances she did, so no complaints.

Judge Score: 9.5

Music -Each stage had its own musician and as mentioned above, there was no music bleed over due to good separation between the stages. The musician on our stage did not take a pee break that I saw. I heard no music complaints from anyone else.

Musician Score: 9.5

Food – I saw normal convention center fair, pizza, pretzels etc… but we didn’t eat there so I didn’t get a good look. I was surprised by drink prices though with $12 for a water, Gatorade and a soda.

They did have beer, but sorry @washcap37, no Yuengling, only Bud and Bud Light.

Food Score: 7

Vendors – The shoe guy, and feis t-shirts, but the girl child didn’t like the design. Wigs, as always, a nice jewelry booth I had not seen before, but really not too much else.The thing I thought was COOL, and had not seen at a feis before, was a photo booth, but I didn’t catch the prices. You can see all the vendors at the the feis site under Vendors.

Vendor Score: 8.5 (a little extra for originality)

Results – Great work on results, out really quickly and they used social media to post info, although not quite as quick as a walk to the ‘scoreboard’. I always complain about no Twitter or Facebook posting, but I can’t do that here.

Results Score: 10

Feis Flow – I think the number of stages helped with the flow. They did not have to put quite as many comps at each stage like at many feises and even with comps in the 20s, my daughter finished 5 dances in under 3 hours (including the Treble Reel at lunch). Great flow. Grouping of age comps would have sped it up some, but on our stage there were only about 3 age groups, so it was still quite good.

Feis Flow Score: 9

And the WTF Rating – a WTF Rating is 8.85 which is the BEST WTF review score so far. Great job North Coast!