Irish Music Fun!

This weekend was a lot of Irish music fun. Saturday we cleaned house and got out the Christmas tree. It is up, still not decorated but the lights work and the angel is on top. In the late afternoon we collected Grammy and Dylan's friend, Katelyn, then headed to the city for the Irish session at Fergies Pub. Haley had gotten in touch with her friend, Paraic, and he joined her for some tunes. She was excited to show him the Chieftains tunes she learned this past week and play them with him.

I laughed when we walked into the pub and the waitress immediately brought over our drinks without even asking for an order...kinda funny that my 9yo is so well known at a pub, she doesn't need to place and order.

We couldn't stay for the whole session because we had to drive down the shore for the monthly Irish Ceili. The kids love going and learning the dances. It is a great group of people who are very welcoming to beginners and are always willing to dance with whoever needs a partner. The kids play music during the breaks or sing along with the two guys who enjoy performing a funny song. Haley talked one into singing the Unicorn song so she could do the hand-motions with him.

Sunday, Haley had a make-up violin lesson then we headed back into the city for the Irish session at Plough and the Stars. Haley's friends from NY, Jayne and Bram were visiting relatives in the area so they joined us at the pub as well as her friend Alexander. The kids had a lot of fun playing tunes together and with the other musicians.

The evening started with just a few musicians but the number of musicians grew as the night went on.

We stayed until the session ended at 9pm then headed home to bed. We had a full day of school and practice today...kinda nice after having a light week last week with the holiday.

Beautiful Fall Day in NYC...

 This weekend I drove Haley to NY for her fiddle lesson on Saturday then we stayed over and spent Sunday with her friend Sofia and family. We met and drove into the city to ride bikes in Central Park.

Parking was fun in a van with bike rack on back. We had to park half-way then remove the bikes from the rack and leave them on the sidewalk to get the van all the way into the spot.

The weather was perfect. The kids had so much fun riding their bikes around the path. There were a couple close calls with one particular young one who was not quite as competent with steering as the older kids.

This might have been the only picture I could capture of Alik without his tongue sticking out.

We stopped in Sheep Meadow for a picnic lunch. Alik enjoyed laying on the blanket to look at clouds, Anya enjoyed eating, and Haley and Sofia had fun climbing the large tree shading us.

What a cutie!!!

The big girls having a powwow.

Let's see...if Sofia jumps up and grabs the branch then Haley might be able to jump up and reach it.

With a little team work they both made it onto a branch.

Here are the girls! Ready to get back on those bikes.

A quick stop for some yummy ice-cream.

A post-icecream zombie. Grrrr! Gotta love those rocket pops!

Here's the Quidditch match we saw on our way back to the van. We, Muggles, had a hard time figuring out how they play but we enjoyed watching.

After our bike ride we stopped to check out an Irish session in a local pub. Haley and Sofia joined in for a couple tunes. We then got some pizza to eat and headed home.

Video of Smithsonian event

Here's a clip of my Towheads performing at the opening of the Smithsonian Institution's New Harmonies exhibit at Wheaton Village....

Maryland Celtic Festival 2011

Yesterday, Grammy and Poppop drove Haley, Dylan, and I down to Maryland so we could attend the Maryland Celtic Festival. The festival is held at the Maryland State Fair grounds and has lots of musical performances, vendors, food, and crafts and activities for the kids. Haley and some of her fiddle playing friends took a fiddle workshop with Brian.

They then competed in the Maryland Fleadh instrument competitions. Dylan took 1st in the under 15 accompaniment competition accompanying Haley with his guitar. Haley took 1st in the under 12 solo fiddle competition. Their friend Alex took 1st in the under 15 solo fiddle.

Alex's father took these great photos....a big thank you to him for sending them to me!

Haley competing

Dylan competing with Haley playing melody for him.

Waiting to compete...too bad they aren't having any fun!!

Just a really nice pic of Dyl.

Smithsonian Institution Gig

The kids were asked to perform for the opening of the Smithsonian Institutions' New Harmonies traveling exhibit on Saturday night. We attended a reception then walked through the exhibit. The kids did a sound check then the concert started. The emcee for the evening was Down Jersey Jim Albertson. He told some jokes and played his dulcimer while he sang some songs. Also playing were Steve Burns who sang blues and played guitar and two other local bands, The Belaire Boys and The Snake Brothers playing Bluegrass style music. We enjoyed all the performances.

The kids performed after the intermission and played a great set. They were really on together Saturday night. They even received a standing ovation! (I hope to add a couple video clips in the next few days.)

Here are some photos of the kids enjoying the exhibit and performing...

Happy Halloween!!

My boys are now too old to go Trick or Treating with their mommy but Haley still enjoys it. We went back to our old neighborhood so she could go with friends...our new neighborhood is houses spread far apart all with long driveways.

Here's my little flapper...

Weekend in CT

Last weekend we got up very early in the morning and drove up to CT with a mom and two Irish music playing little girls around Haley's age, Emily and Livia, for a CCE Irish Music and Dance Weekend. We attended morning and afternoon fiddle workshops. Haley's friend Sofia who lives in CT also came to the morning workshop which was a lot of fun for Haley. She had a whole group of friends to play Irish music with.

After all the workshops...four hours of workshops, Haley took an hour fiddle lesson with her teacher, Brian. Then we got diner suggestions from John Whel*n and drove for dinner. It had to be a quick dinner because we had to get back for a concert that evening. We watched the teachers from all the instrumental workshops perform. They asked Haley and another of Brian's students to join them for the grand finale. Livia would've played as well but she and Emily were in a deep sleep by the middle of the 1st half of the concert.

Here are some pictures of the finale of the concert...