Comments, Part 3

•This year's fest was wonderful, and my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute, both volunteering and just as attendees! My biggest request for next year would be to PLEASE PLEASE put the Fuchsia Band on the Terrace Stage! These guys have earned a great following in KC and clearly draw large crowds! Even if they can't headline, they really ought to have a place where their fans don't have to arrive several hours early in order to get a seat! :) Thanks much for all the work you do in putting on a great Irish Fest! :)

•Thanks for putting on a great show this past weekend. It was apparent to me that Gaelic Storm has found a welcoming and enthusiastic audience in KC. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE invite them back next year and in years to come. I spoke to Patrick Murphy following their Saturday show and he said they would love to be invited back. Thanks again.

•Thanks for a great weekend! Everything was better that ever and the weather...must be the luck of the Irish!

•My wife, my two sons, and my daughter-in-law had a great time this year and I take my hat off to everyone who made it possible with hard work and great volunteers. I am active helping with the Jewish Arts Festival which takes place every other year and know how tough it can be with all the time and work required to make it come off well. I came Saturday and Sunday to see my favorite Irish rock band, The Elders, and they were terrific both nights. They deserve the continued Headliner status. But, the other band I was most impressed with was Gaelic Storm and I would strongly encourage the organizers to sign them up again now for next year. I have already bought 2 of their CD’s and really enjoyed their live shows. I was not impressed this year with Enter the Haggis and the band I did not care for at all was Black 47 and the small crowd listening to them should tell you many others did not like them either. Love to see you get back Wolfstone from Scotland if you add a band or perhaps the Young Duliners that I have heard about. Want to thank you for a great festival from this non-Irish family. We really enjoyed ourselves.

•Folks, we went to the Irish Fest for the first time this past weekend and really enjoyed ourselves. Having samples of the performing bands' music on the web site was very helpful in choosing whom to see. Performances by Seamus Kennedy and Gaelic Storm were outstanding.

A couple of suggestions for possible use next year:

1. The web site did not show the location for special events (for example, dance lessons). When we got to the festival and saw these events listed in the brochure on hand, we were still stumped because there was no map of the site either in the brochure or as a display at the entrance. This would have been very helpful.

2. Most of the volunteers we asked questions of--like hours and locations of events--couldn't tell us anything. That was rather irritating.

3. I love learning about other countries and about history. The only exhibit about Ireland seemed to be the little cutaway cottage (which was very nice, and the man there was informative). I strongly suggest some more displays where Irish craft and culture are demonstrated for those with a good curiosity or educational bent. (The displays about the Irish in American films and about Nelly Don were good, but they were not about Ireland.) If you'd like more specific suggestions on this, I'd be happy to provide those.

4. The volume of the main Terrace stage music was too high. It made it difficult to talk, hear, or concentrate while in the vicinity of that stage.

Thanks very much, and good luck with your plans for 2007.