Maeve with her Gam and Papa

More about Maeve

Maeve who so appropriately named me this year, has sent somewonderful information about her, her inspiration, and her fun times at the Irish Fest.   Read on...

How exciting! The KC Festival and Feis was my lucky weekend!

I am 10 years old and am from the St. Louis area in Fenton MO. I am a homeschool student in 4th grade and an Irish dancer with Clarkson Irish Dance. I had a great time at the feis and received my first- 1st place in the novice level hornpipe.

I love going to the KC Festival every year with my family and my Gam and Papa. I also loved seeing the movie JIG with my friends.

I love the COWS, green fountains, dancing, music, food, vendors and the outdoor mass!
It has become a wonderful Labor Day tradition.
I wanted to also say that lime green is my favorite color---and that I love Ceili's green eye makeup!

I wear the same color to match my solo dress. Also--I think that Ceili's spirit was with me when I started dancing with this group Na Fianna at the Festival--I am wearing the lime green skirt : )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3pXmkwWvsU

I can't wait to meet Ceili!

Love,    Maeve

And I wanted to say that I am the luckiest cow in the world.  Here are some pics of Maeve and her family.

What is in a name?

I love my name so much.  It is just so, well, me!  I was so excited when I was told my name.  It fit like a hand in a glove....or tap shoes on a dancer.  This year was a wonderful year to be the Kansas City Irish Fest representative.  Granted, there were some crazy moments, but all in all I love seeing the joy in all the faces that pass by.  That joy is all that I live for.  Did anyone reading have some exciting moments to share?

I have my name!!!

My Name is Céilí.

In modern usage, a céilidh or ceilidh (English pronunciation: /'ke?l?/) is a traditional Gaelic social gathering, which usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing. It originated in Ireland, but is now common throughout the Irish and Scottish diasporas

Ceili dances, or true ceili dances (fíor céili) are a popular form of folk dancing in Ireland. F Ceili dances are based on heys ("hedges" - pairs of lines facing), round dances, long dances and quadrilles, generally revived during the Gaelic revival in the first quarter of the twentieth century  and codified by the Irish Dancing Commission . These thirty dances form the basis for examination of ceili dance teachers.

The style of dance employed for ceili dance differs greatly from that used for set dance, and has more the appearance associated with the style of step dance. In particular, it emphasizes height and extension, with dancers generally dancing on their toes (but not "on point" as in ballet). A movement called "side-step" or "sevens and threes" with which dancers travel sideways to the direction they are facing is common, as are jig-step movements called the "rising step" or "grinding step". Ceili dances may be divided into figures, but a single type of tune is generally used for all the figures and the dancing does not pause between the figures.

Unlike square dance and round dance, ceili dances are generally not called by a caller: the flow of dance is defined by its name.

A 10 year old Irish dancer by the name of Maeve gave me my name.

I love you all!

The Irish fest might be over, but I hope the memories you made this weekend will last forever.

Magic Everywhere

I think that yesterday was an awesome day at Irish Fest.  It began with a scorching sun, so then I played a song to make the clouds roll over and give us some rain.

For all of you who missed the excitement today, please come today.  Everything will be just as special and just as fun!

I love you all.

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If you are reading this, get yourself to the Irish Fest!  You might be missing something awesome!!!

The day has arrived!

Well, this evening is the beginning of the best weekend in KC!  I hope you all are as excited as I am!!!!  The Irish Fest Kids Team has been doing so much work to make this a special weekend for every person who attends.  I want to give a big KISS to all of those workers who, even now, are working tirelessly to make everything perfect for kids of all ages.  They do it all for you.  They get joy out of seeing you find joy.  Every smile, every laugh, every shout of excitement...it means the world to this crew.

Alas, it also means my days of being in the spotlight are ending.  I have enjoyed being your mascot for the year.  But, I am also terribly happy to be passing the torch on to such a beautiful, happy, dancing cow.  She is excited to be your cow this year.

I love you all.  And I wish you all the joy and bliss possible throughout the weekend. ;)

Children's Stage Schedule!!!

I have my hands on the schedule of events for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  I want everyone to be able to be there for the event that they find the most exciting.  Personally, I know all of our events are going to be amazing, so I would make a day of it and watch everything!!!  I can't believe we are only a day away.  I am counting down the hours!  A big version won't fit, but click the link and a screen size version will appear!!!!

 Click here for a larger version