Olympic Pavilion Show, February 24

Eire Born dancers headed downtown on Wednesday night for their second show at the BC Olympic Pavilion at Robson Square. Thanks to Jennifer who sent along this photo of Anna and Lauren. I will also post a few of Cheryl's photos once she has a chance to forward some to me. Thanks again to all the dancers - and their parents - who participated in Eire Born performances during the Olympics!

NAN's Fundraiser: Purdy's Easter Chocolates

The NPIDA dancers and parents who are planning to attend the 2010 North American Championships in July 2010 have been working on a few fundraising ideas to help offset some of their travel costs to Orlando. If you normally buy Easter chocolates from Purdy's, you can help support these dancers and save money too! Order deadline is March 15; delivery will be March 24.

Purdy's has a fundraising program for community groups whereby the participants can save 25% on the cost of chocolates while raising funds for their group. NPIDA parent Nicole Dent is organizing this fundraising effort on behalf of our 2010 NAN's dancers. If you would like to purchase your Easter chocolates at a 25% savings over the regular retail price and help support our dancers heading to Orlando, please contact Nicole directly for further information. She can be reached at: nicoledentATshaw.ca (replace AT with @).

Photo from Purdy's website.

Pat at the Olympics

As mentioned in my January 9 post, Pat is a volunteer NOCA (National Olympic Committee Assistant) for the entire Swedish Olympic team this month. He sent along these photos and a brief update about his Olympic experiences so far, which he says have "wildly exceeded" his expectations.

Prior to the athletes arrival, Pat spent a lot of time helping get the Swedish team residence ready in the Olympic Village - lots of unpacking and setting up of equipment, supplies, furniture and clothing. After the athletes arrived from Sweden, Pat has been kept very busy driving athletes, trainers, coaches and the Swedish Chef de Mission to and from the various venues in Vancouver and Whistler.

Some of his highlights so far have included:

- Driving hockey star Peter Forsberg to the Olympic Media Centre for an interview;

- Chatting with hockey stars Daniel and Henrick Sedin and Matius Olund in the Swedish lounge;

- Travelling to Whistler with Sweden's top journalist, and standing at the finish line for cross country and biathlon events;

- Escorting the Chef de Mission to Whistler and being with him in the Family Olympic Lounge overlooking the Alpine Downhill finish line.

- Being in the Athletes Village with world class athletes every day.

Thanks Pat! Enjoy the rest of the Olympics!

Eire Born at River Rock

Cheryl has sent along a few of the photos that I took with her camera at the River Rock this past weekend. Despite my best efforts, unfortunately most of these photos are not great quality, due to a combination of my inexperience with a big D-SLR camera, not using flash in the theatre, and the ever-changing stage lighting. The third photo, above, where the dancers are still, is the sharpest (because the dancers are still!) When Cheryl sends along the rest of the photos I will post any others that may have turned out ok.

Check back tomorrow for an Olympic update and some photos from Pat, mid-way through his Team Sweden Olympic experience!

Cheryl's Weekend Olympic Photos

Here are a few of Cheryl's photos from the Olympic shows last Saturday. The first 6 shots were taken at the BC Olympic Pavilion, and the final 2 shots were taken at the Olympic Irish House. Thanks for sharing these pictures Cheryl! Cheryl has also posted many more photos from the BC Olympic Pavilion show on her Shaw Photoshare site (scroll down for a direct link on the right under "Website Links").

Feis registration reminder for dancers who plan to attend the Comerford Seattle Feis on March 6-7: the registration deadline at feisworx.com is this Friday, Feb. 19. The Emerald City Seattle Feis (April 24-25) and the Victoria Feis (May 1-2) are also currently open for registration.

Show #2 at Irish House

Cheryl G. took these photos on Sunday night when Eire Born was back at the Olympic Irish House for their second show. As on Saturday night, there was a huge and very enthusiastic audience. Many thanks to all the dancers and parents who ventured downtown on Sunday night for this show! Additionally, thanks to team captains Rachel and Kimberly, and production team Vic and Connie.

Eire Born will be performing again on Friday and Saturday nights at the River Rock Theatre in Richmond.

Michael and Lisa at the Opening Ceremonies

As mentioned in my January 7/10 post, NPIDA dancers and siblings Michael and Lisa were busy with rehearsals for the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. They were part of a group who performed a segment to live fiddle music called "Rhythms of the Fall". Michael and Lisa were in the "Prairie" dance group; 4 other groups represented Quebecois, West Coast, Metis and Cape Breton traditional dance styles. Thanks to Michael for sending these photos!

1. Michael and Lisa backstage with their accreditation passes and Team Canada t-shirts.

2. Outside the stadium wearing their costumes, before hair and make-up were done.

3. Lisa getting her make-up done.

4. Rhythms of the Fall performance (photo source unknown).

Congratulations Michael and Lisa for being a part of this memorable Olympic performance!

Olympic Shows: Candid and Street Photos

Here are a few candid shots I took downtown yesterday before and after our Olympic shows. Eire Born parents; if you have any clear photos from the Olympic shows that you would like to appear on the blog, please e-mail them to me.

1. Heading from Richmond to downtown via Canada Line: Margaret, Alex, Hanna and Kali waiting to board at Templeton Station.

2. While at Starbucks on Granville St., the girls had a friendly conversation with the extremely vivacious friends and family of Olympic biathlete Dominik Landertinger, in town from Austria.

3. There are lots of public art displays on the streets throughout downtown Vancouver; this was entitled "Lantern Forest: Return to Innocence" (hundreds of lanterns made by children).

4. Cultural Olympiad banner on Granville St.

5. Some of our Richmond dancers nearly got caught up in an Olympic protest/riot as they got off the Canada Line upon arriving downtown. Here, a newspaper box was thrown by rioters through the window of the TD building just before we walked by.

6. Courtney led a rehearsal in the spacious lobby of Anna's dad's law office on Hornby. (Thank you Brian and Jennifer!)

7. Walking from Hornby to Robson Square; Courtney requested "all big dancers please hold the hand of a little dancer!" Here: buddies Kimberly and Gemma, Hanna and Anna.

8. Birds-eye view of 20+ Eire Born dancers getting dresses and shoes on before the show at the BC Olympic Pavilion.

9. The very popular zipline across Robson Square was directly above the stage the girls were dancing on.

10. Gemma and Jadyn backstage.

11. Despite the heavy rain, Eire Born had a huge crowd of appreciative spectators for their show!

12. After the show, Kali, Margaret, Hanna, Courtney and Kimberly were stopped on the street and interviewed by a CTV reporter and cameramen. A crowd quickly gathered around them, and someone asked me "Are they celebrities?"

13. Hanna and Kimberly backstage at Irish House later in the evening.

Eire Born at the Olympic Irish House

After performing at the BC Olympic Pavilion yesterday, Eire Born headed over to the official Olympic Irish House, which is a huge temporary pavilion behind Doolin's Irish Pub. It's hard to describe the atmosphere inside - something like the largest St. Patrick's Day party you could imagine! The venue was absolutely overflowing with people, and there was a 2-1/2 hour line-up down the sidewalk outside!

When the dancers began their show, it was standing-room-only and the revved up crowd was extremely enthusiastic. Thanks to all the dancers and parents who came to Irish House last night!

1. Kali and Margaret showing their Olympic spirit. Go Canada!

2. This is just a partial view of the enormous crowd at Irish House!

3. Hanna, Kimberly, Rachel, Maria and Jessi waiting backstage.

4. Anna Z, Emma and Cara.

5. Getting pumped up just before the show: Hanna, Kimberly, Margaret, Kali, Catalina, Courtney and Lauren.

6. Laurel, Mackenzie and Nicole.

7. Lauren and Catalina.

8. Maria and Anna M.

9. Shannon and Jessica.

10. Camryn with parents Andrea and David.

11. Dancers ready to perform for the lively Irish House crowd.