Pan Pacific Irish Dance Championships

PAN PACIFIC 2011 CANCELLED

2011-05-24T18:20:00.000-10:00

In December when we released the syllabus for the Pan Pacific Irish Dance Championships, our committee made a personal commitment to staging this year’s event. Therefore, it is with the greatest regret that we must inform you of the cancellation of the 2011 Pan Pacific Irish Dance Championships.

With the diagnosis in the past months of two of our parents with stage IV cancer we know we cannot devote the energy and focus necessary to make the event tenable this year. Although we know that this decision breaches a trust we take seriously, after much consideration we understand that our time in the coming months must be devoted to the principle we hold in highest regard: family.

We view you as part of our Pan Pacific family as well, making this decision all the harder: we hope you will understand. Those of you who have paid registration fees will receive a full refund with our gratitude. For those who have made travel arrangements, we would like to extend free registration to our sister feis, Feile Samhain, October 29 & 30 in Vancouver, Washington. Please feel free to contact us at panpacificchampionships@yahoo.com.

Your support has meant so much to us and we profusely apologize for any hardship this decision may cause you and wish you all the best in the coming year.

REGISTRATION OPEN FOR PAN PACIFIC 2011!

2010-12-27T10:23:00.002-10:00

Aloha!

We are pleased to announce the registration is open for the second Pan Pacific Irish Dance Championships & Feis, to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday, July 9th, 2011. We are very pleased to be back after one year’s hiatus with the only event of its kind in Hawaii, and look forward to bringing together dancers from throughout the Pacific Rim and beyond in a spirit of friendly competition.

This year we extend a warm "Aloha" to adjudicators Russell Beaton from Baltimore, Maryland; Mary Bryan from St. Catherine’s, Ontario; and Dennis Dennehy from Chicago, Illinois; with music again provided by Merv Bell from Edmonton, Alberta.

This year’s event will be hosted at the McCoy Pavilion, across the street from Ala Moana Shopping Mall, the largest outdoor mall in the world, right on the other side of the Ala Wai canal from the excitement of Waikiki, and just feet from Ala Moana Beach and the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

The Pan Pacific Championships & Feis offers a unique syllabus: in addition to separate Preliminary and Open Championships as part of the standard Western US syllabus, Prizewinners and Champions may enter the separate Pan Pacific Step-Dancing Championships, a second three-round competition.

Registration will be provided by FeisWorx; you may register and pay online at www.feisworx.com. Online entries are due before midnight Hawaii Standard Time on Wednesday, June 1st, 2011 to avoid late fees; paper entries must be postmarked by Wednesday, June 1st, 2011. Entries must include the $25 individual/family registration fee, which includes commemorative competitor wristbands and a complimentary program.

Our first year, we had just under 80 competitors, and although circumstance did not permit us to host the event last year, this syllabus is your guarantee that the Pan Pacific Irish Dance Championships will return to Honolulu in 2011! So make your travel plans early and join us at the 2nd Pan Pacific Irish Dance Championships!

Hele Mei Hoohiwahiwa ~ Come Celebrate with Us!

MAHALO A NUI LOA!

2009-08-27T11:57:00.000-10:00

Congratulations to all who worked, supported and attended the Pan Pacific Irish Dance Championships & Feis!

With your help, we had a fun-filled day: all awards were announced from stage; local performers Sean Tiwanak with Lei Medeiros & Callan Medeiros, Masa Yamaguchi with the Celtic Pipes and Drums of Hawaii, Irish musicians Lisa Gomes & Curtis Vanderloop, and the Hapa Haole Hula Girls entertained before, during and after the event; we were joined by the Right Honorable Mufi Hannemann, Mayor of Honolulu; and we stayed within 30 minutes of our time table!

Congratulations to our first Pan Pacific Step Dancing Champions:

2009 Senior Champion Megan Largy of the Steel School, British Columbia
2009 Junior Champion Libbi Gasiorowski of the Moore School, California
2009 Minor Champion Sierra Ferber of An Daire Academy, Oregon

Our heartfelt thanks go to all the supporters of the first Pan Pacific Irish Dance Championships & Feis whose generous contributions of time, talent and treasure made our inaugural year a success!

Mo’i (Gold-level Sponsors)
E & J Lounge Operating Company, Inc.
The Lund Family
An Daire Boise Parents

Kaukauali’i (Silver-level Sponsors)
Wild Shamrocks
Windward Community College

Ali’i (Bronze-level Sponsors)
Murphy’s Irish Pub
Lisa Gomes
The Perry-Carrera Family
Phillip R. Brown, Esq.
Boston Pizza

Mahalo (Thanks)
Co-Chairs: Jim Mueller, TCRG & Becky Fisk, Esq.
The Net: Kurt & Terena Lund
Promotion: Lorraine Suankum
Accomodations: OHANA Resorts & Hotels
Aloha Reception: Hapa Haole Hula Girls
Adjudicator Baskets: Bruce and Doreene Elliott
Adjudicator Hospitality: Lauren Crowe-Mueller, TCRG, Barefoot Wine, Kohala Nuts & Charmaine Yee
Program: Windward Community College
Registration: Gina Caples & Rebecca Ferber
Stages: Home Depot
Stage Marshalls: Lauren Crowe-Mueller, Terena Lund & Melanie Nance
Starter: Sierra Nyberg
Tabulation: Matt Fisk & Kurt Lund
Awards: Sherlee Nyberg
Entertainment: Sean Tiwanak with Lei & Callan Medeiros, Masa Yamaguchi, Lisa Gomes & Curtis Vanderloop & Hapa Haole Hula Girls
Volunteers: An Daire Academy, Jig This Hawaii, Celtic Keiki and Friends of St. Patrick

Mahalo nui loa (Special Thanks)
Mayor Mufi Hannemann
All of our participants…and the People of Hawaii!!!

FINAL SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

2009-08-14T19:52:00.000-10:00

Aloha to all of our competitors!

We are very excited to see you in Hawaii next week for the first Pan Pacific Irish Dance Championships & Feis! As you know, our entries are quite modest for this first year and as a result we have modified the schedule and venue to accomodate the size of the event.

All competitions will be held on Sunday, August 23rd at the Princess Kaiulani Conference Room in the OHANA East Hotel (address below), one of our two feis hotels. Please note the change of venue and abbreviation of the schedule due to the level of entries. We apologize for any inconvenience, but we hope you will enjoy the more intimate setting.

Mahalo a nui loa!

PAN PACIFIC IRISH DANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS & FEIS

When
Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

Where
OHANA East
Princess Kaiulani Conference Room
150 Kaiulani Avenue
Honolulu, Hawaii 96815-3292
808-922-5353

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
(all competitors should be dressed and ready to dance 1 hour prior to scheduled start times)

9:00am
Welcome & Anthems
Prelim U12, Prelim U15 & Open U15 back to back
Treble Reels 971 & 972
Prelim 15&O and Open 15&O back to back

11:00am
Awards and Hawaiian Entertainment

12:00pm
Teams
Beginner, Advanced Beginner & Adult Soft Shoe
First Feis, Beginner, Advanced Beginner & Adult Reel Trophies
Beginner, Advanced Beginner & Adult Hard Shoe

1:30pm
Awards and Hawaiian Entertainment

2:30pm
Novice & Prizewinner Soft Shoe
Novice & Prizewinner Hard Shoe
Novice & Prizewinner Treble Reel Trophies

3:30pm
Awards and Hawaiian Entertainment

4:30pm
Pan Pacific Minor, Junior & Senior Specials back to back
Solo Dance-offs

6:00pm
Awards & Farewell

How to Register Online

2009-06-12T09:31:00.000-10:00

For dancers having competed in North America, many of you are already familiar with online registration through FeisWorx. However, for many of our Overseas and First Feis participants, FeisWorx, and indeed the syllabus, will be new altogether.

The unique features of the Pan Pacific Championships & Feis and the standard Western US Regional syllabus are detailed in the Pan Pacific syllabus. Inquiries may be forward to panpacifichampionships@yahoo.com and we will happily answer your questions!

For those using FeisWorx for the first time, you may view the online instruction manual by linking to http://www.feisworx.com/share/FeisWorxHowTo.pdf or by following the link under "Competition Information" to the right. Payment in US Dollars is easy online: FeisWorx accepts Visa, MasterCard and Discover Card!

For other registration questions, go to http://www.feisworx.com/faq.php for frequently asked questions.

Mahalo!

Travel Tip: Airlines Flying to Honolulu

2009-06-11T09:52:00.000-10:00

Here's a list of websites and phone numbers for airlines flying to Honolulu International Airport!

Air Canada 1-888-247-2262

Air New Zealand 1-800-262-1234

Air Pacific 1-800-227-4446

Alaska Airlines 1-800-252-7522

ANA/Air Japan 1-800-235-9262
1-800-262-2230 (Japanese)

American Airlines 1-800-433-7300

China Airlines 1-800-227-5118
(808) 955-0088

Continental 1-800-523-3273
1-800-231-0856 (International)

Delta 1-800 221-1212

go! 1-888-435-9462

Hawaiian Airlines 1-800-367-5320

Island Air 1-800-323-3345
(808) 484-2222

Japan Airlines/Jalways (808) 521-1441

Jetstar 1-866-397-8170

Korean Air 1-800-438-5000

Mokulele Air 1-866-260-7070
(808) 326-7070

North American 1-800-371-6297

Northwest/KLM 1-800-225-2525
1-800-447-4747

Omni Air International (808) 834-4577

Pacific Wings 1-888-575-4546
(808) 833-4324

Philippines Airlines 1-800-435-9725

Qantas Airways 1-800-227-4500

United Airlines 1-800-241-6522
1-800-538-2929 (International)

U.S. Airways 1-800-428-4322

WestJet 1-888-937-8538

Travel Tip: Finding Bargain Airfares Online

2009-06-10T06:12:00.000-10:00

For the traveler with a computer, a little free time and some persistence, airfare bargains are out there to be had! Here are just a few tips on booking inexpensive airfares online:

1.Check for your flight itinerary on reputable online travel discounters such as CheapAir, CheapOAir, CheapTickets, Expedia, Hotwire, Orbitz, Travelocity, Yahoo! Travel to see what the lowest fares currently being offered are for your desired days of travel. Certain sites such as Cheapflights.com will permit you to check several websites at once. (Personally, CheapOAir, and Yahoo! Travel have yielded the best results).

2. Many sites will permit you to search a range of days to find the lowest airfare. If possible BE FLEXIBLE: if the difference in the airfare by going a day early is greater than the cost of an extra night in the hotel, you'll save money!

3. Once you've found a flight you like at a price you like, go to the website of that airline and search for that itinerary AGAIN: although discounters often have access to special airfares not available on the airline's website, all discounters charge a booking fee of a few dollars that can be avoided if the same price is available.

4. Search on Wednesdays or Thursdays, as that's when many airlines release their weekly specials, and those specials usually go quickly!

5. Be patient. Airfares are like the weather in Ireland - if you don't like them, just wait a few minutes. Airfares are constantly changing. If you don't like the airfares on a given day, give it a couple of hours or even a day and try again. Common wisdom was airfares would increase steadily leading up to the day of flight, but that's not always the case. If you watch the fares closely - every few hours - you can almost always find an airfare that will fit your budget.

6. Check the flight rules to get the best airfare. Many airlines will have seats available on any given flight, but will only have a certain number of seats at your price or will only offer a fare until three weeks out, after which it will rise dramatically. That said, it is still possible to find great last minute airfares: CheapOAir is excellent for last minute flights.

Visit Hawaii.com

2009-06-09T12:51:00.001-10:00

For planning you feis weekend, check out Hawaii's best travel site, www.Hawaii.com. Photos, maps, Prizes, Hawaii information, hot travel deals and more — Click here to join today!