About Feisin' the Coast & MS Gulf Coast Feis
Front Beach (1 mile from feis venue)
Downtown Ocean Springs (shopping, restaurants, and nightlife)
Mary C O'Keefe Cultural Arts Center (feis venue)
October 5, 2024
This feis is themed around the large annual event Cruisin' the Coast in early October where thousands of classic cars drive up and down coastal Mississippi. Feisin' the Coast will feature trophy specials with 1950's dress up themes and unique awards!
October 6, 2024
The Mississippi Gulf Coast is all things coastal, beach, and fun! This feis is eco-friendly with biodegradable or earth-friendly awards whenever possible, and the use of technology to limit paper consumption during the feis. Beach and coastal Mississippi themed trophy specials will be on the syllabus.
Black and white attire with no wigs and minimal makeup is recommended for this feis.
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Show Your Support
The Feisin' the Coast and Mississippi Gulf Coast Feis is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. All donations and sponsorships go towards promoting, fostering, and advancing interest and awareness in Irish culture and heritage through dance, song, and music and are tax deductible.
Parents, dancer shout-outs in our program are available for just $25.
Support our feiseanna in 2024!
Email feisinthecoast@gmail.com or fill out our sponsorship form to get started:
Volunteers needed!
We couldn't host such an amazing event without volunteers like YOU!
Fill out our form below to sign up to help in 2024. Volunteer incentives include food, t-shirts, and more!
Feis Venue, Travel, & Lodging
Feis Venue
This double feis weekend will be held in downtown Ocean Springs, Mississippi with lots of boutique stores, restaurants, and evening entertainment within walking distance with Front Beach just over a mile away.
The Mary C is a beautiful building and is home to art and history exhibits, classes, theater, workshops, and more all furthering art of all kinds in our community.
Mary C O'Keefe Cultural Arts Center
1600 Government St.
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
Travel
The nearest airport is Gulfport, Mississippi (GPT) which is ~20 miles from the feis venue.
Other airport options include Mobile International Airport (BFM) ~50 miles away, Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) ~50 miles away, and New Orleans (MSY) ~100 miles away.
Hotel Room Block
Margaritaville Resort Biloxi
195 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS 39530
Less than 10 minutes away from the feis venue and right on the beach is our hotel room block at Margaritaville! Each room includes up to 4 passes (one for each guest) to their waterpark! A great place for kids to play and adults to unwind after a long day of feising. Also at the resorts are multiple restaurants, an arcade, an amusement park, bowling lanes, a ropes course and more! This hotel is family-friendly, with plenty to do for kids, teens, and adults.
Room rates range from $170-219 per night depending on the day and INCLUDE up to 4 passes to the water park per room!
How to Book:
Call Mon-Fri 8am-4pm
Wendy 228-271-6338 or
Kay 228-271-6335
Ask for “Feisin’ the Coast Hotel Room Block”
Reservation cut-off date Sept 4, 2024
Credit card required to book a room
Cancellation requires 48 hours
2024 Adjudicators & Musician
2024 musician and adjudicators are to be announced soon! In the meantime, read about our musician and adjudicators from 2023.
Musician
Claire Shirey, Fiddle
Claire Shirey is a multi instrumentalist and champion Irish dancer, currently living in Nashville, TN. In 2012 she became a student teacher for the Atlanta Irish Music School, teaching concertina, tin whistle, bodhran and fiddle. During her time with the Atlanta Irish Music School, she has performed at numerous venues: Chamber of Commerce, Spivey Hall, Atlanta City Winery and Emory Celtic Christmas. In 2013 under the Atlanta Celtic Company, Claire began playing and dancing with many bands in Atlanta, Georgia. Claire has participated in the Fleadh numerous years placing in the concertina and flute. In attending the Mid-west Fleadh, she participated in the Grupai Ceoil and Ceili Band competitions.
Claire plays the fiddle for Feiseanna throughout the US and Mexico since 2018. As a musician in the Feis Circuit, Claire has the privilege of playing the Southern, Mid- Atlantic, and Western Canadian Oireachtas Competitions.
As a performing musician, she has played shows across North America, most recently joining CelticIllusion, playing the fiddle for their Canadian/US tour in March 2020 & 2022. Claire is also a resident member of Micheal Londra’s band which tours throughout the States.
Claire is the founder and director of the Nashville Irish Music School since 2019. She also is part of the Traditional Irish Music Band, Music City Trad performing in the Middle Tennessee Area.
In addition to being an Irish Musician, she is also an Irish step dancer and a certified teacher (T.C.R.G) under An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha. Claire teaches for Scott-Ellis School of Irish Dance in Nashville, Tennessee.
Adjudicator
Laura Cass, ADCRG
Laura started Irish dancing at the age of 6 in Buffalo, New York. She won her first ceili title at the age of 8 and continued to compete at the highest level after relocating to Houston, TX. Both her solo and team dancing earned her multiple awards including 15 world qualifications, top National placements, multiple Regional podium placements and 7 Regional team titles.
Competing throughout the USA, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and England inspired Laura to pursue a professional career which lead to countless TV appearances and professional productions. She has shared the stage with internationally acclaimed artists including Michael Londra, Eileen Ivers, Carlos Nunez, The Blaggards and Gaelic Storm. She was a performing member of Colorado’s “Strictly Irish,” and was a regular guest artist at The Nine Fine Irishmen in the New York, New York Hotel in Las Vegas. She has also been a dancer at Disney’s “Raglan Road,” and has toured Spain, China and Germany with Gaelforce Dance.
In December 2017, Laura hung up her competitive shoes and passed her T.C.R.G. examination to begin teaching alongside her husband Owen Barrington, and her older sister Erin Cass, at the Cass-Barrington Academy of Irish Dance, where she continues to pass on her knowledge and love of dance to the next generation, all while being a licensed and certified Dental Assistant in Houston, Texas.
In 2023, Laura successfully passed her A.D.C.R.G. examination and is very excited to be traveling to Mississippi!
Adjudicator
Ronan McCormack, ADCRG
Ronan began his Irish Dance training at the age of three in Dublin and before long he was competing at feiseanna in Ireland and the UK. The following twenty years saw a competitive career, which included Irish, British, North American and World successes in both solo and céilí dancing. During his latter competitive years, Ronan became one of the most sought after designers of Irish dance costumes. In 1992, seven of the female World Champions wore his designs. He also made the cummerbund worn by Michael Flatley in the iconic Lord of the Dance poster.
Ronan is also an accomplished musician and in 1994 graduated from the Waterford Institute of Technology with a B.A. Music degree. It was during his last year at college that he was chosen to be part of the original Riverdance troupe for the Eurovision Song contest and he subsequently toured the UK, USA and Canada with “Riverdance - The Show.” Not only did he dance with the show, he also played keyboards with the Riverdance Orchestra.
He returned to Ireland in 2000 to take the TCRG examination and later that year began teaching in Norway. He subsequently qualified as an ADCRG and Grade Examiner with CLRG. He has traveled extensively, choreographing for both competitive dancers as well as performing companies. Now based in Florida, he teaches with schools in both Western US and New England regions, while still maintaining his school in Norway and giving workshops throughout Europe.
Having also trained in tap and modern dance, Ronan has appeared regularly on television in Ireland. In 2004 he appeared as a “dancing giant” in the Miramax production of “Ella Enchanted.” In 2006, he choreographed and appeared in a production of “Playboy of the Western World” for the Norwegian State Theatre Company. He was one of the professional dance partners in RTE’s “Celebrity Jigs ‘n’ Reels” – Ireland’s answer to “Dancing With the Stars” and featured in “Strictly Irish Dance”, a documentary special for TV3 and TLC. Most recently he was Associate Producer of the BBC/RTE series “Jigs & Wigs – The Extreme World of Irish Dance.”
Adjudicator
Anthony Murnane, ADCRG
Anthony hails from Auckland, New Zealand, and was born into a famous Irish Dance family, "The Whitty’s." He is part of the fourth generation of Irish dance teachers in the Whitty family - one of the longest familial associations to Irish Dance and An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha in history. Anthony’s great-grandfather, Harry Whitty, was the first person to introduce Traditional Irish Dancing to New Zealand from this native Co. Cork in 1906. His grandmother, Cecelia Whitty TCRG, became New Zealand’s first certified teacher with An Coimisiún and later his Great Aunt, Alice Whitty ADCRG, was one of New Zealand’s first adjudicators and examiners.
Anthony began dancing at the age of seven under the tutelage of Clare Connolly TCRG and in later years under Catherine Cronin ADCRG. He went on to win several New Zealand Championships - from Junior Boys to Senior Men, along with numerous other competitions for both solo and Céilí/figure dancing. Having retired from competitive dancing, Anthony went on to tour with the shows throughout Europe before settling in Dublin.
Anthony obtained his TCRG diploma in Dublin in 2004 and taught dancing there for several years. He received his ADCRG diploma in Derry in 2010. Since then, he has adjudicated extensively around the world, judging many major events including Regional Oireachtaisí, Oireachtas Rince na Cruinneand Oireachtas Rince na hÉireann.
Now living in Florida, USA, Anthony teaches with the Heavey-Quinn Academy and adjudicates regularly throughout the country.
Thank You to Our 2024 Sponsors!
Title Sponsors
Clap Your Hands Sponsors
Sing Along Sponsors
Tap Your Toes Sponsors
