Registration for the Columbus Feis through eFeis will be open until June 30th. Adults should register by downloading the Printable Entry Form from the Registration menu on the left and mailing it with all dance fees. Family Fee does not apply to adult entrants who will not be going to the High School if paid by mail.
A feis - pronounced 'fesh' - is a fair or festival.
The local festival was of great importance to the Gaelic people of ancient Ireland. Centuries before television, people would gather to share song, dance, music, storytelling, theatre and sport, live and in person! To the gathered listeners warriors would retell their adventures, clansmen would pass tales of the family history and the harpers would regale the assembled with legend, story and song. Commerce and politics found a ready audience in the feissana of those times.
Over the centuries suppression of the free expression of many elements of Irish history and culture has often been violent and brutal. While written records were forbidden and destroyed even the dance and song celebrating the heritage of the Irish people was banned. Yet that treasured history remains, kept alive in song and tale, celebrated in music and dance. And spread across the face of the earth, carried by the sons and daughters of the Emerald Isle seeking peace, sustenance and freedom denied them in the land of their birth.
The past few decades have seen a tremendous growth in interest in Irish dance and culture. Feissana are common in Ireland, Scotland, the United States, Canada and Australia. The modern feis centers on competition, primarily in step dance, but often in song, arts and craft, storytelling, language, instrumental music, creative writing, baking and art as well.
A member of the North American Feis Commission and one of the largest feissana in North America, the Columbus Feis draws over 1200 competitors from across the United States and Canada, and occassionally welcomes participants from Europe and Australia.
A special feature of the Columbus Feis is it's twenty-two year relationship with the Dublin Irish Festival which occurs on the same weekend on the grounds of Coffman Park adjacent to the facility hosting the feis. The festival is the embodiment of the ancient Gaelic festival on a huge scale with parades, dozens of featured entertainers, some of the ancient games, vendors of arts and crafts, food and beverage, and tens of thousands of attendees.
Many of the dance schools participating at the feis are also featured performers at the festival. This offers an opportunity for the dancers to demonstrate their skill and artistry before literally thousands of enthusiastic onlookers. Indeed, the adult ceili and the Irish language competitions are featured on the festival grounds Friday evening. Saturday evening after the feis the first, second and third place competitors in the Preliminary and Championship levels are invited to perform at the festival along with the 'best of the feis' music competitors.