On July 27, 2013 my daughter ventured across the border to attend the St. Catharine’s Feis in St. Catharine’s Ontario, Canada. It was our first experience with a Canadian feis and we were looking forward to the trip.
Unfortunately this was not my favorite feis. The venue was a small college campus which was lovely but crowded with several activities that day (including a hockey tournament AND a soccer tournament) and no clear signs directing us to the feis. We found the parking by accident when my daughter spotted a girl in a wig. The parking lots were small and parking was at a premium. Luckily we snagged a spot and proceeded to the feis which was a bit of a walk.
The registration process was a nightmare! The feis was in one building and registration in another which shouldn’t have been a problem because the buildings were close. However, only one side of the double doors leading into the registration building would open which met you had people coming and going through the same door often with chairs, dress bags, suitcases and even strollers. The process was going so slowly that feis volunteers were forced to grab a stack of cards and walk up and down the already long line calling out to those who last names began with the letter of the stack they had in their hands. Needless to say the feis was delayed by a half an hour with anthems beginning at 9:05am when the feis scheduled at 8:30am.
Camping space was very limited as well. We got a spot with other families that was comfortable at first but soon discovered we were directly where results were to be posted. Rather than being forced to move the majority of people decided to stay put and tolerate the dancers and families looking over us to find results.
The feis space itself was comfortable with plenty of room to move around and a composite floor which was easy on the feet. Once the feis got started it moved along at a nice pace with results posting quickly. Once lunch came around everything came a to stop. In addition to the Treble Reel, St. Catharine’s offered a Rock n Reel competition which was fun but between both specials the lunch break was extended by an hour. My daughter, who danced at her first dance at 10:30am didn’t dance again until 2pm! Needless to say she was tired and frustrated from waiting so long. Thankfully the feis resumed a good pace and we were finished by 3pm.
The feis food was interesting but not in a bad way. Breakfast was a bake sale with everything from coffee to fruit and baked goods all at reasonable prices. Lunch was a cookout with hamburgers, hotdogs, sausage sandwiches, chips and bottled water and soda. again at reasonable prices. Combo meals of a sandwich, chips and a beverage were offered at $5.00 for a hamburger and sausage platters and $4.00 for a hotdog platter.
As for judging it could have better. My daughter had the same judge for her soft shoes and a different judge for both her hard shoes. Again, I’m not a fan of only using 1 or 2 judges at a feis. I much prefer rotating judges amongst all of the dances and unfortunately you don’t know that until you get to the feis.
Results were posted in a timely fashion but you had to buy judges comments for a dollar after your competitions were finished and results posted. Really? Why not just add it into the feis fees?
I’m glad we went to the St. Catharine’s Feis and met some very nice people. However, I’m not too sure I would venture to this feis again unless I was building a mini-vacation around it since St. Catharine’s is close to Niagara Falls, Niagara on the Lake and Toronto.
Til next time – Slainte!
Confeissions of a Feis Mom 
St. Catharine’s Feis 2013 said
[…] The 2013 St. Catharines Feis was held on July 27th, 2013 in St. Catharine’s Ontario, Canada. This review is another linked in from Confessions of a Feis Mom’s Blog by WTF friend MaryMac962. You can read the review here. […]