Oireachtas and Mini-Feis 2005 a Huge Success in Vancouver
By ELMA MELHUS
VANCOUVER - Over the weekend of November 11 to 13, Vancouver welcomed the best Irish dancers in Western Canada as they participated in Oireachtas 2005 hosted by The Penk O’Donnell School of Irish Dance and the Western Canadian Irish Dancing Teachers Association.
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DANCERS with the Penk O’Donnell School of Irish Dance which co-hosted the November Oireachtas. Approximately 700 Irish dancers from across Western Canada attended the event.
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Approximately 700 dancers from British Columbia through Manitoba arrived at the Westin Bayshore to compete for the highly coveted opportunity to represent their region at the North American Championships (July 2006) and the World Championships (April 2006).
The event provided the opportunity to visit vendors, bid on silent auction items, try your luck on a raffle, and best of all, witness some phenomenal Irish dancing. Figures competitions were held on Friday evening and the room was abuzz in anticipation of the main event on Saturday. The Oireachtas solo competitions were underway at 8 AM and to quote one participant, the day “ran like a German train” sticking closely to the tight schedule.
Participants were impressed by the raised stages that had been so generously provided by Sky-Hi Scaffolding. The stages were designed to replicate the dimensions of the stages used at the Worlds and many parents commented that they provided a perfect view from any seat in the ballroom.
Following a very long day of competition, dancers and parents waited eagerly to learn the results. The Awards Evening, emceed by Patrick O’Donnell, was kicked off with the sound of Let’s Get it Started by the Black Eyed Peas as dancers in full costume cheered for the awards to get rolling.
The awards ceremony saw many tears of joy and the frantic flash of cameras as parents learned if their son or daughter would represent the region at Nationals or, even better, Worlds.
Sunday saw another long day of competition with the Mini-Feis for dancers from first Feis through Prizewinner. The final results were announced at 6 PM and Oireachtas and Mini-Feis 2005 was over. The countless hours of preparation were well worth it as the event was a huge success. And even though it rained (constantly), our fine city provided a warm welcome to all attendees. Here’s looking forward to Oireachtas 2006.
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