The Word

Kansas City Irish Fest Children's Area coordinator Shawn Sullivan came home form the recent Dublin Irish Fest with a lesson learned and a new word lived. She's kind enough to share it with you:

"I know Uncle Bloggy talked about this concept earlier this year in the Blog, but during my recent excursion to Dublin Irish Fest, the word 'Staycation' became a way of life.

One family of four, brought five to the Dublin Irish Fest and explained it to me as such:

'We decided to not spend one day at Dublin Irish Fest this year, but the entire weekend.' (The family was from nearby Columbus.) 'It gave us an opportunity to see more bands, and provided us with the time to let everyone spend time where they liked.'

And the fifth person, was Grandma. Grandma provided the family extra help when the vote for the kids was the Children's area and Mom and Dad were off to see Slide.

As I was sitting with Grandma for about 3 of the many hours I spent in the Wee Folk Area, she was having as good as time as I was watching the boys perform in a play, jump on bouncy things, and make a green hat. Grandma had both her phone camera and a regular camera as she took pictures of the boys and sent them off to the Dublin Stage for the parents to laugh at while they were jigging to the music of Slide.

Later a switch was made so Grandma and Mom could attend an act like the great Maken and Spain Brothers on the Trinity Stage (I actually didn't ask where they were going, so I just picked an act I liked) and Dad and the boys were off to see a storyteller (that much is true, afterall I was observing children). And the next time I ran into the boys, they were still with Dad and had just bought some great Fest Merchandise with Staycation allowance they had saved.

I left the Fest at about 5:30 to change my shoes, and had the entire family with me as they were headed to the hotel, some were swimming for an hour before the next trip back to the fest, others were changing their shoes. Shoe changing was important at Dublin Irish Fest (it is big) and in Uncle Bloggy's rules, we do allow shoes - even multiple pair at Irish Fest.

I didn't see the family on Monday as we headed west to KC, but I thought Wow, what a great Staycation, and the family didn't drive the car once in 2 1/2 days, had great entertainment, and lots of fun times and great memories. Everything a Staycation should be.

I know Uncle Bloggy wants to be in that family, and I thought of many KC families who would enjoy the same experience...you know what that means, get those hotel rooms now, and see what your favorite babysitter or Grandma is doing over labor day weekend.