26th Annual Dublin Irish Festival – Dublin, Ohio

[creagdhubh]

Kyle,

Thanks for the weather update. I'm going to bring my day jacket (my only kilt jacket) just in case.

We are all set and the car is packed so we can leave right after we both get home from work this afternoon. We'll get to Western Pennsylvania tonight and head to Columbus in the morning (after visiting with mom for a bit).

I just learned that our daughter, who lives in Dublin, is only about three or four blocks from the grounds. Since we will be staying with her, we should be able to walk to it and not have to deal with parking.

My wife got tickets through the web site and since we are both over 60, we got a discount. We will probably head over about noon and pretty much spend the entire day, at least through the 78th Fraser Highlanders (though not sure how the grandkids will hold up). My wife made reservations to the 'Fairy Princess Tea' for our daughter, two granddaughters and herself for later in the afternoon.

Kyle, where and when might us X Marks rabble meet & greet and have a photo op? Also; What entertainment would you recommend as worthy to seek out?

Nile

Nile,

No worries, mate. I'm planning to bring my day jacket just in case as well, at least to wear in the cooler evening hours perhaps. That's awesome that your daughter lives only three or four blocks from Coffman Park, lucky! Hahaha! We actually have friends of friends that also live very close, since the festival grounds is literally surrounded by a lovely neighborhood, yet our friends unfortunately will not be attending this year. However, we do have a contact at the festival who will be reserving a parking sport for us at the Dublin Community Recreation Center, which is on the festiavl grounds, so luckily, we will not have to walk too far!

We also purchased our tickets online and received a military discount, since my wife, Stephanie and I are both former active-duty Marines...every wee bit helps! I'm pleased that you and yours were able to receive a discount as well. We have booked a room at a local hotel and will be staying Saturday night, then off to explore Columbus - there are some attractions that my wife and I would like to check out, so this is the perfect opportunity to do so. I called the hotel today to see if I could get an earlier check-in time, so we could get to the festival a wee bit earlier and they told me to call them on Saturday around noon to see if our room is ready, so we may actually arrive at the festival earlier than 3:30-4 p.m. - we shall see. We are driving in from Cincinnati, which is only about two hours southwest of the greater Columbus area, and I prefer not to wear Highland dress in the car for extended periods of time, which is why we must check in to our hotel first, so I can change.

I am not entirely sure of a proper place or a particular time that would be ideal for members of the rabble, who are attending the festival, to meet up for a chat and a photo op. It can be difficult to arrange such things, so I tend to either find them, or they find me! That actually isn't too difficult, since we'll all be wearing Highland dress and will stand out. Obviously, the majority of the attendees at the festival will not be in a kilt! Perhaps we can all organise a time and place within the next day or so via this thread?

I would recommend seeing any of the bands listed above, as well as the dancers and various pipe bands that will be performing. There also will be a Highland games "demonstration" that may be of interest, though the athletes present will not be competing, which is much more exciting in my opinion. Of course, the 78th Frasers are the absolute highlight for me...I've never seen them in person before, so that should be an exciting time and an excellent way to conclude the evening! Remember, all beverages sold at the festival require tokens that you can purchase there. All of the food vendors accept cash, and perhaps some may even accept credit/debit cards. you can also purchase tokens with either cash or a credit/debit card.

I wish you safe travels and hopefully we will all be able to meet up! Just keep an eye out for me...I'll have my cromach and will be wearing a Balmoral in a fawn (tan) colour. I should be relatively easy to spot out of the 100,000 spectactors expected to attend!

Best wishes,