Stewart Feis (Vancouver, BC - June 2002) Feis Run-Down (or: the plans):


Practices:

No practices. Only three families went (four kids).

Comments on the Feis/Feis Day:

Day One
I wasn't sure what to expect. I had been in the car for nine hours with various members of Bekah's family before getting virtually lost in Vancouver all because they changed the name of an exit.
We eventually found the hotel. It was quite nice. Nothing compared to the Double Tree, but this Holiday Inn was still high on the list. There was a sky train that ran past the hotel that sounded like Pod Racers from Episode I, and Bekah and I got a little too carried away with that notion.
We arrived at around 2:00 PM but couldn't get a hold of Shannen and her mom Sarah, so we didn't hold a pre-feis pratice session. We only had one figure dance (2-Hand) that night.
Once we left for the recreation complex that the feis was being held in, Bekah and I practiced the 2-Hand, got changed, and bought IDKB shorts! Yeehaw!
The feis was about an hour-and-a-half behind schedule, and for fourty-five minutes of that wait, I was sitting on a bench with our competitors (who were very nice) and getting our ears blasted out. Once we finally were able to start, it was like a weight had been lifted. We danced really well, and once that was over with, I browsed the vendors. They were awesome vendors! Sooo much stuff, so little time! Okay, we had time, but there was just so much stuff!
We waited a really long time before leaving for the awards room, because we figured it would be a while. It was worth the wait. First place! Oh yeah! Happy dance!
Back at the hotel, Bekah and I used the hotel hallways for solo dance practices. We played Pat King's "Three Score and Ten" and danced for a while.

Day Two
We got up early, headed down to the venue at 7:30ish, and got my Slip Jig level changed from Beginner to Advanced Beginner, where it should have been, then Rebekah and I practiced big time.
Once everything started a long time later, I was finally able to dance. I messed up in the Reel on the turn big time (stupid floors), but danced better in everything else. Once our last Advanced Beginner dances ended, we had to wait for about fourty-five minutes for Beginners so I could do the Treble Jig and Single Jig, and Bekah to do the Light Jig and Treble Jig.
The Treble Jig competiton was daunting. I went second after an excellent dancer who was simply amazing danced here way around the stage. I didn't miss a brush or a beat, and I didn't slip, so that made me happy.
After all of those competitons ended, there was a three-hour wait for trophies, during which I discovered I had a fouth in Single, third in Light, and second in Slip. They hadn't posted Treble, so I browsed the vendors more before venturing back to see my scores after lunch. FIRST! Yeehaw! I was so surprised!
The trophy dance was interesting. The first row consisted of girls doing really simple dances, and my row (second) did more advanced steps. There were 30 or so dancers in the trophy, so I didn't expect to win a trophy. Once I finished a girl from another school told me that I am a very excellent and strong dancer! I was so happy. It made my day.
I bought loads of stuff at this one. Extra-long poodle socks (they do not fall down - I swear!!!), new ghillies (the man trying them on me took about a half-hour of careful fitting and took me down to a size 3.5 - ouch), Irish Dancers Kick Butt shorts, hardshoe elastics, two new CDs (Pat King and Tony Nother), 'Life in the Feis Lane' bumper sticker, Irish Air Force tank top, reel socks (the ones that look like ghillies), and a Cow Wars shirt (okay, so I got it at Cow's Ice Cream parlor...).