Deadline Looms

If you haven't booked your discounted Irish Fest hotel room yet-those ones that come complete with free festival tickets-it's officially the 11th hour. Tomorrow, lucky Friday the 13th is the last day to get those discounted rates of $107 and $112 at the Hyatt and Westin respectively.

You should really do this, even if you live here in Cowtown. I live less than 3 miles from our Crown Center site and I'll be camped out at the Westin all weekend. To illustrate why you should too, let's look at a couple sample scenarios here:

It's 11:00. Irish Fest has closed for the night. Sean packs up his folding chair and blanket and walks with the crowd toward the parking garage. Let's see, he parked on the Green Level. Or was it the Gold Level? Red? Finally, there's the minivan. Pack up the gear, join the long queue inching toward the exit. After the 20 minute drive back to the cul-de-sac in his Prairie Mission Park suburb, Sean unpacks the van, lets the dog out, waters the begonias and heads inside. He sits alone in the family room and watches the home shopping network for a few minutes to unwind. He's tempted, but resists the temptation to buy a steam cleaner. By the time he gets to bed it's 1:00. He'll get up early to walk the dog and mow the lawn before he packs the car up and heads back to Irish Fest. It opens at 11:00 and it's a long drive.

It's 11:00. Irish Fest has closed for the night. Maire grabs her folding chair and strolls across the street. She takes the elevator to her 16th floor suite. A quick shower and a change of clothes and back out. Maire heads out the door and immediately catches the free shuttle to Raglan Road for the official after party. It's a full on hooley. Hey, those guys from that band she just saw are playing on stage! Boulevard on special? Don't mind if she does. Hours of fun later, she takes the shuttle-with her new best friend, that fiddler player from that other band-back to her hotel. She stops by the bar at the Hyatt where a trad music session is raging. She sings a ballad that brings tears to the eyes of everyone there, including the executive from that record company who immediately signs her to a six figure contract. Hours later, back at the hotel, she slips into the luxurious bed with the clean sheets and no chores to do. She can sleep late tomorrow because Irish Fest doesn't open until 11:00 AM and it's right across the street, after all. A 2 minute walk after a great hot breakfast. And then another day and night of fun.

Seriously, you're not going to want to go home with Sean. That guy's a loser. And if you enjoy a pint or two of that new Irish Fest Stout, we certainly don't want you driving home. So stick around. But get that room today, before they're gone.