In this email is a LOT of important information for our entrants and spectators and we ask that you read it in its entirety to avoid confusion.
Date: Oct. 24, 2020 (Rain or Shine!) Time: Gate opens at 7:15 am, Stages begin at 8:30 am sharp Location: Forest Lodge, 11 Reinman Road, Warren, NJ 07059 Vendors: Fay's Shoes, Feis Head and Head for the World
Most importantly, it is MANDATORY that every attendee to review and fill out our "Attendee Registration and Waiver" form here: https://forms.gle/bRFoo1wDq1SCPAK1A
In this form you will let us know who is coming with your dancer to the feis plus acknowledge our waiver. Parking for the feis is BEYOND where attendees will be counted so to answer a common question, no, additional people or drivers who don't plan on coming into the dancing area cannot wait in the car for you. They will have to drop you at the entrance and find some place downtown to have a coffee (Warren has a Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, a diner called the Country Squire, pizza, etc etc - there is also a playground at the Municipal grounds - google it!)
Stage Schedule is also attached to this email. Competitions marked with an asterisk will run concurrently. Competitions marked with a slash have been combined. We did our best to make competitions big enough to "count" toward moving up but were not able to do so in every case.
What to Bring / Not Bring:
* Your Dancer's Competitor Number.PLEASE print your competitor number at home/work (any kind of plain white paper is acceptable). We will NOT have competitor numbers for pick up at the feis. This can be done by visiting Feisweb now.
* NO Outside food or drink is allowed.Attached is the food and beverage menu with very reasonable prices for a variety of items!
* MASKS are mandatory. In New Jersey, face coverings are required in outdoor public spaces when social distancing is difficult to maintain. While we have a lot of space at our disposal, most of us will be clustered around stages and awards areas where social distancing will be encouraged, but more difficult to maintain, so it's best if we keep our masks on. Dancers will be able to remove their masks for their on stage performances (more on this later).
* Camping chairs and blankets are allowed on the lawn but NOT under the pavilion. There will be lots of picnic tables for families to sit at but if you prefer to bring your own seating, you may. Blankets are allowed. No tents allowed.
* Picnic tables should be used by 4 individuals or one family (if they have more than 2 people) to maintain social distancing.
What to Expect When you Arrive:
1) When you drive up the entrance to the property there will be Forest Lodge staff members waiting at the gate. The staff will be counting every person who enters the property (with the exception of children under age 2). Please be transparent about how many persons are in your vehicle.
2) Proceed through the gate and follow signs/cones to our Entry Desk where you will check in with your dancer's last name from your car. PLEASE make sure you have filled out the "Attendee Registration and Waiver" BEFORE arriving at the feis. If you have additional people in your vehicle beyond how many you are allowed, you will be turned away.
3) The driveway to parking will pass to the right of the New Pavilion where the feis will take place. If it is raining, you may drop off dancers or spectators here and proceed to the parking lot down the hill.
Additional Details
Under the main pavilion we have two large stages. Stage 1, 2 and 3 (one stage divided into thirds and then later in half) will begin as grades and switch to prelim and later open championships. Stage 4 (one stage divided in half) will have Open Championship all day.
Vendors will be located under the Middle Pavilion.
Grade Awards and Marks will be located on the side of the Main Pavilion where food is sold, near the Prelim and Champ Award tent.
Prelim & Open Championship Award Ceremonies will be located under the tent to the right of where food is being sold (Main Pavilion). Marks will be emailed after the feis.
Vendors: Fay's Shoes, Head for the World and Feis Head
Food sales are also nearby under the Main Pavilion. See attached menu - again, no outside food is allowed.
Wristbands: We have opted not to use wristbands.
Dancers should only remove their mask just prior to walking on stage: All dancers are asked to bring a small gift bag with them, decorated however they like, with their name prominently displayed. We will have a few bags for those who have forgotten them. Dancers will wear their mask up to the side of the stage where they can at the direction of the stage monitor remove their mask, place in their gift bag and place their bag on a designated table side stage. When dancing is complete and dancers walk off stage, they should retrieve their bag and replace their mask before returning to the audience.
Lining up side stage: Dancers should listen closely to stage monitors and announcers.
Set Up of Competitions on Stage for Grade Levels: Beginners and Advanced Beginners will be counted in from the front of the stage. Dancers will stand at the back of the stage, spaced apart and will dance one at a time on their stage. Dancers should be aware of the lines delineating the edge of their stage and stay within them.
Championship Competitions: Dancers will line up side stage and follow social distancing markers. All competitions will be danced two at a time however each dancer will have their own side of the stage to perform on, delineated by a line of tape down the middle. Set dances will be danced from the center line and dancers may use the entire stage to perform.
Scores and Comments: Judges comments will be handed out following the conclusion of each competition's award ceremony (or in the case of grades, able to be picked up under the Middle Pavilion). Scores/marks for Championship levels will be emailed after the feis to participants. Grade levels will get their scores and comments on Feis day.
Twitter: We will be using twitter to display results and to notify you of happenings throughout the day.
Restrooms: Restrooms are located on the right side of the driveway at the top of the hill . They are attended and monitored for social distancing and cleaning throughout the day.
Art Competition: All submissions must be brought to the art table by 1 pm and picked up by 4 pm. Awards will be posted after 1 pm. Anything left after 4 pm will be disposed of.
We want to express our heartfelt appreciation in advance for your cooperation and patience as we attempt to bring some level of normalcy back to our Irish dance world. We know how important this is to your children and families and we are excited to see everyone once again. That being said, we respectfully ask that those of you who are competing in the morning limit your stay and exit the premises shortly after receiving your awards.
Thank you!
Best, Amy Siegel Loxley, ADCRG, Heritage Irish Dance Company The Karlok and MacDermott Families, Feis Chairpersons The Heritage Irish Dance Company Family of Teachers and Volunteers
SCHEDULE
UPDATE REGARDING ENTRIES/WAIT LIST
The Feis is closed on Feisweb. If you wish to get on the wait list, please email info@heritageirishdance.com.
Our committee is reviewing the entry list to ensure that all dancers have paid and/or are NOT residents of states currently affected by NJ State Travel Restrictions. Entries that have not been paid will be sent a reminder to pay and a deadline to do so. Entrants who live in affected states will also be removed and refunded (if they have paid). After that point, we will be adding dancers from our wait list.
After we account for volunteers, judges and musicians, we will see how many additional spots we can add to our total entry list. As we have said before there will not be more than 500 total persons allowed on site and NO one will be allowed on site who has travelled to or comes from a state currently on the NJ travel restriction list.
We wish we could accommodate EVERYONE, but under the current circumstances, we cannot.
WELCOME BACK...
Welcome to the information hub for our 2020 Feis! Like you, we have been waiting a LONG time to be able to attend a feis, and we are very excited to be able to host the Heritage Irish Dance Company Feis on October 24, 2020. We have an incredible venue, Forest Lodge in Warren, New Jersey, which is able to host our event following all current New Jersey State Covid-19 Mandates. Click on the venue name above for more information and directions.
Hosting a feis in New Jersey (or the surrounding area) is traditionally very costly even under the most "normal" of circumstances. Our feis has been one of the largest in the State, hosting over 1,000 entrants from all over North America (and even Ireland!). This year, we will only be able to accommodate just over 200 competitors plus one spectator per competitor.
Heritage Irish Dance Company has secured the entire 50 acre Forest Lodge property for our feis so that we can safely run our event in compliance with current New Jersey Covid-19 protocols. Because of the high venue cost combined with a significantly lower number of entrants allowed, we are forced to raise entry costs for all competitions in order to ensure we can pay our expenses. Your family fee will remain the same as in 2019 at $25.00.
Our goal for running the 2020 Feis is to give local Irish dancers an opportunity to do what they love - to compete, to meet their goals, to perform on stage and to see their friends... safely!
THE SYLLABUS
THE DETAILS
As of Sept. 22nd, 35 states are on NJ's travel advisory list. PLEASE DO NOT ENTER THE FEIS IF YOU LIVE IN OR PLAN TO TRAVEL TO ANY OF THE STATES ON THIS LIST TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO THE FEIS. An up to date list can be found on the NJ COVID DASHBOARD.
Covered, double-wide stages for all Prelim & Open Championship competitions mean that dancers will perform two at a time, but with each dancer performing in his or her own 24' X 20' area.
Hand sanitizing stations will be placed in convenient areas
Bathrooms will be monitored and cleaned regularly by Forest Lodge staff
Masks must be worn by all attendees and volunteers. Dancers may remove their mask only when performing.
Only one spectator per dancer will be allowed on site. Spectators must register ahead of time via a Google Form that the feis will email to all paid entrants.
Spectators and dancers (or their guardians if the dancer is under age 18) must sign an acknowledgement of all policies and waiver before October 18th.
No one will be allowed on site without filling out the Google Form and signing the acknowledgement and waiver.
Please print your number card at home and bring to the feis.
Limited seating will be available on the lawn in the form of picnic tables, but you may bring your own chairs for use on the lawn to the side of the pavilion.
No chairs will be allowed under the pavilion.
No outside food or drink is allowed. Food and non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks will be for sale.
The feis reserves the right to combine age groups for any level of competition in events with fewer than five (5) entrants so that placements will "count" toward a dancer moving up levels.
