DeDanaan Feis Schedule

The DeDanaan Feis schedule has now been posted at feisworx. Click here for a direct link: www.feisworx.com Good luck to the 62 NPIDA dancers who are registered for this feis!

Photo: Google Images.

Ceili 2010

Nora has recently confirmed that our 11th annual NPIDA Ceili and year-end show will take place on Sunday April 18th 2010. After several consecutive years at the Squamish Nation Recreation Centre in North Vancouver, the Ceili will take place at a new venue in 2010: Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver. Stay tuned for further details from Nora in the new year!

Also to note on your 2010 calendars: The Comerford Seattle school has recently confirmed a new date for their spring feis: it will take place on March 6-7/10 at the Sea-Tac Hilton Hotel.

Photo: Senior Richmond girls at the 2008 Ceili: Margaret, Devon, Alex, Kali, Natalie P, Lisa, Paige, Kelly, Hanna, and Natalie S.
(Photo taken by Michael, I think...)

Congratulations Shelby!

Shelby from Richmond has advanced from Prizewinner to Preliminary Championships; congratulations Shelby! Nora has recently confirmed Shelby's advancement after reviewing her results from the Stewart Feis back in June '09. Good luck in Prelim!

Photo by Google Images.

Michael and Michael

Last April Michael competed at the 2009 World Championships in Philadelphia and placed 16th in the Mens U-18 category. During the evening of his awards ceremony, Michael Flatley was in the venue and came backstage to personally greet the medallists. A professional photographer captured "Michael meeting Michael", and Michael just recently received this photo; thanks for sharing it with us!

Reminder: Tomorrow (Monday Nov. 23) is the deadline to register and pay for the DeDanaan Feis on feisworx.

Photo by Morad Bouchakour.

Final Oireachtas Photos

Here are the final few Oireachats photos submitted by parents. (Thanks to Jennifer and Claudia for these shots). My thanks to all the parents who submitted photos over the past couple of weeks! For those of you attending the upcoming DeDanaan Feis on Dec. 5-6, you are welcome to submit any clear shots you may have of NPIDA dancers to pickettlineblog AT hotmail.com. (replace AT with @).

Postings will likely not be daily for the next while, as there are no upcoming feis or NPIDA events except for the DeDanaan Feis next month. However, please continue to check back as I will be posting occasional updates where possible! Tomorrow, for example, I will be posting a special photo taken at Worlds in Philadelphia last April.

1. U-13 Oireachtas dancers out for dinner in Edmonton.

2. Heading home from Edmonton: Anna and Gemma.

3. Kate and Paula on the flight home.

4. Rachel and Harriet on the flight home.

Cheryl's Photos

I've already posted several of Cheryl's great Oireachtas photos over the past couple of weeks here on the blog; here are a few more. Most of you who went to the Oireachtas have probably now received a disc of photos from Cheryl; I am posting a few of those shots for the other NPIDA families to enjoy. Thanks Cheryl for coming to Edmonton to document these moments for the Oireachtas dancers!

1. Suzanne and Michael; U-18 World Qualifier.

2. Nora and Courtney with sisters Mackenzie and Camryn.

3. Senior girls from North Van: Tori, Alex, Kate, Jessi and Paula.

4. Courtney and Alex.

5. Caitlin and Macaela sharing a soda.

6. Gemma and Cara: U-11 medallists.

7. Nora and Courtney with Shannon; U-10 World Qualifier.

8. Michael and Courtney: Glasgow here we come!

Please scroll down to Tuesday's post about Mothers and Daughters at the Oireachtas: Connie submitted a beautiful photo of Jayne and her mom Nicole, which I have added to the top of that post.

Connie's Photos

Last night I received some wonderful Oireachtas photos taken by Connie. She has a great camera and a great eye; thanks for these Connie! All of these photos were taken on Friday November 6 at the Oireachtas in Edmonton. The first 4 photos are of Connie's daughter Shannon along with Lauren, both World Qualifiers in Girls U-10. As always, click on any image for a larger view.

1-4: Shannon and Lauren.

5. Shannon, Catalina and Macaela.

6. Kelly, Paige, Natalie and Michael at the Friday night awards.

7. Macaela, Kelly and Paige.

8. Nicole and Mackenzie, U-13 medallists.

9. Natalie, Courtney, Margaret, Hanna, Michael and Kali at the Friday night awards.

Oireachtas Dads... and a Brother

A shout out to all the NPIDA dads who support their dancers year-round! A few of them made the trip to Edmonton for the Oireachtas; I only have these 3 photos. Thanks to Jennifer for the bottom photo.

1. Scott with wife Rosalie and daughter Jessie.

2. Kenny with wife Christine and dancers Macaela and Caitlin; little sister Emma not in this photo. Nora and Courtney to the left and right.
3. Anna M's brother Darren (son of Jennifer), hanging out with Gemma's dad John (husband of Kelly-Erin). Darren passed the time playing lots of Nintendo :)

Moms and Daughters

I wish I had been able to capture 41 mom-and-daughter shots at the Oireachtas last weekend, but here are a few that are too lovely not to share. No offense to the NPIDA dads - I know there were several of you at the Oireachtas too ! Thanks to Cheryl, Christine and Connie for contributing to this beautiful collection of photos:

1. Nicole and Jayne

2. Linda and Courtney

3. Sue and Jadyn

4. Sheryl and Cara

5. Rosalie and Jessie

6. Susan with Lauren and Nicole

7. Connie and Shannon

8. Christine with Caitlin and Macaela

9. Tracy and Kealin

10 Jill and Samantha
11. Cathy and Alex

If any other parents have some mom/dad/family shots from the Oireachtas, please send them along!

Senior Ladies Champion!

Here is a cropped version of Cheryl's photo of Courtney on the podium after winning 1st place at the Oireachtas last weekend. Congratulations again Courtney ! And yes that is Nora in the blue wig (for those of you who weren't there: all the TCRG's were dressed up in "disco" attire during the awards ceremony).

Please note that on the sidebar to the right, I have added a direct link to Cheryl's Shaw Photoshare website (scroll down and you will see "Website Links" underneath the little daily calendar). Cheryl has posted some of her Oireachtas photos from both Friday and Saturday. Thanks for sharing these with us Cheryl !

More Photos from Edmonton

Oireachtas photos are still trickling in from parents. Thanks to Jennifer, Cheryl and Christine for the above images, all taken last weekend in Edmonton.

1. Courtney and Shannon - World Qualifier in U-10!

2. Anna (U-10), Gemma and Cara (U-11).

3. Anna and Kealin... before.

4. Anna and Kealin... after!

5. Courtney: Western Canadian Senior Ladies Champion!... with Caitlin, Emma and Macaela. Courtney, we are all SO proud of you!

Oireachtas Moments

Thanks to Sue and Christine for submitting these photos. Parents; it's not too late to send me any pictures from the Oireachtas that you would like to see on the blog!

1. Caitlin and Jadyn: Pre-Oireachtas medallists.

2. Some of our senior dancers at the Friday night awards: Kelly, Paige, Natalie, Courtney, Margaret, Hanna, Michael and Kali.

3. Waiting in the hallway for recall announcements on Saturday: Paige, Michael, Alex, Macaela, Catalina, Caitlin and Hanna.

More Oireachtas Photos

Thanks to Claudia, Jennifer, Tracy and Andrea for submitting the photos above, all taken last weekend at the Oireachtas in Edmonton.

1. NPIDA had 7 competitors in U-13: Catalina, Anna Z, Mackenzie, Laurel, Nicole, Emma and Luan.

2. Anna M on stage (photo by OnSight Photo).

3. U-9 girls relaxing at the pool: Jadyn, Gemma, Jessie and Kealin.

4. Nicole, Mackenzie and Catalina.

5. Nicole, Mackenzie, Catalina, Emma, Anna Z, and Laurel.