Pow Wow

In a few weeks-on Halloween day actually-several Irish Festers including old Uncle Bloggy will be boarding a jet headed for Ireland. We'll be attending the sort of annual conference of Irish Fest planners and promoters, last held here in Kansas City. We're being hosted by our friends at AOIFE, the Association Of Irish Festivals and Events. These conferences are incredibly valuable, especially to festivals like ours who are still relatively young. The chance to share ideas and experience with our counterparts across the US, Canada and now Ireland is a great opportunity and one not to be missed. I've attended every one of these conferences, in Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Nova Scotia and KC. I've made friends at festivals big and small, new and venerable. And I've stolen ideas from almost all of them.

Of special interest to me every year are the evening musical showcases. We've found and  booked countless bands through conference showcases. This year those performances will feature only Irish acts and only those that currently have no North American representation. I can almost guarantee that some of them will be on our stages here in Kansas City in 2011 and beyond.

I hope to be reporting from the conference, interweb permitting, and giving you a front row seat to all the news. As you can imagine, these are solemn, business-like affairs featuring intense meetings and early nights spent studying the days business. The conference runs November 2-5.