2004Cincinnati Feis

When:	June 27, 2004
Where:	Northern Kentucky Convention Center Covington KY
Competitors:	Ges (dancing/vocal) Devonna (dancing/soda bread) Rebekah (dancing/soda bread) Rachel (dancing/vocal) Luke (dancing)
Why We Went:	After working at the Dayton Feis the previous day, we needed to compete sometime this weekend... :-) It's also an hour from Clan Seger World HQ, which means it's a much simpler feis trip than normal.
Previously Reviewed:	2000, 2001, 2002, 2003

ORGANIZATION

Trophies for all open/prizewinner first, second, and third places -- even for Adults (!)
There was a small designated Camping Area near Stage 4, usage of which had been auctioned off to a lucky family prior to the feis. Neat fundraising idea.
Good selection of vendors
There was a claim ticket system for competitors to pick up their soda bread and arts entries after the feis.
On a related subject, there was a dedicated stage monitor for all Irish Arts competition.
Preregistration at the Dayton Feis the preceding day, as always.
The contestant numbers had on the back, in addition to the standard list of competitions, the stage on which each competition was held.
As previous competitors last year, we were automatically mailed entry forms and syllabi

The committee should not advertise that certain levels of dances (such as Advanced Beginner) are going to begin at a specific time. One family from our school showed up at the time advertised on the feis website, only to discover that their daughter had already missed her reel.

B+. . I couldn't give them the A they otherwise deserved because of what went wrong in this category.

Same stage scheduling for the girls and us (!!). Luke was the only dancer who changed stages all day, and even then he rotated to an adjacent stage after his reel.
Beginners danced after Figures.
This is one of the few feisanna in the Midwest that specifically has sibling figure competitions.
For being as big as it is, I am always amazed at what time this feis ends every year.

Their perennial feis facility -- The Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington -- was used again this year.
The same floor plan as last year was used in the Main Ballroom.
The lobby running alongside the main hall to its north had more than enough room for the most extensive vendor area you'll find outside an Oireachtas.
There was a lot of parking within two minute's walk of the feis site
Multiple food places
One of the good consequences of their stage schedule was that everyone didn't have to keep moving around the feis.
Many coat racks located strategically throughout the site
Four years and people still haven't discovered the downstairs exhibit hall lunch counter.
Soda Bread/Arts & Crafts were located behind the entry gate and next to the escalators where everyone entering/exiting the feis could see them.
I continue to like how they attempted to block off zones in front of all major doors with black and yellow tape to make them no-camping zones -- and had signs to that effect as well.

I only saw one men's room. I'm sensitive to this as an issue.
Adult Dancers were over in the Stage 9 room with the older non-champion children. This made the room a lot smaller than it actually was.
On a related note, having the Adults across the hall from the Main Ballroom made it difficult to check up on any child dancers you may have had competing.
The committee may wish to consider taping (or roping) off designated walking areas in the Main Ballroom. I'm not sure this will help with the usual choke points between stages 2 and 3 or between stages 4 and 6.

A-. . Not really a whole lot was different enough to change last year's score

The Awards table continues to be broken out by level. After watching it operate for two years, this runs better than the previous methods they had used.
The committee was very quick in correcting a transcription problem in the awards posting of Luke's Soft Jig when I showewd it was genetically impossible for the dancer with that particular number to have danced in his competition.

The committee went straight into solo dancing after Figures had concluded. This meant that solos started before the time advertised on the website, with consequences as already described in a previous point.

A-. . Devonna talked me out of a major deduction here because she felt the "What went wrong" point actually improved the flow of the day's events.