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May. 9th, 2010 10:59 pm
Níl aon rud air ach donas
I'm glad I put off coming downtown for a day, since it was infinitely nicer to be in Millennium Park this afternoon than it would've been in the cold and wet. While it wasn't exactly balmy, it was quite nice in sun, and there was plenty of that. So much that I suggested to Nuphy that we move to the shade of the Lurie Garden before we ended up lobsters. Speaking of which, there was a dancing lobster at the Next Generation tent. (At first I thought it was a dancing shrimp and got excited for reasons that not more than a half dozen people on my flist could possibly understand.)
As for the Fest itself, meh. I'm agnostic about whether it works in the space. Before, everything was arranged along Columbus Avenue, which made it easy to get an overview of events and tents. Now it's all spread over three levels, so when you're at the Next Generation tent (just off Michigan), you haven't the foggiest what is happening on the main stage at Pritzker, and vice versa. I overheard some of the concessions operators complaining about being stuck on the far side of the pavilion grounds and I don't blame them; their share of the foot traffic was minimal.
Concessions have always been the weakest point of Celtic Fest, and now they're only weaker. We may have joked every year about the presence of a Thai place, but at least it was another option. This year there were all of three vendors who weren't affiliated with the Park Grille (which is three more than I expected to see, frankly). But the most galling affront was the beer. Fucking Budweiser, are you kidding me? I did not come all the way up here from St Louis to have that swill at my city festivals.
Fortunately, anticipating the poor pours of Guinness that are part of Celtic Fest tradition, Nuphy and I met up first at the Gage. (I'm sure no one wants to hear me go on again about how this is the one bar in Chicago which maintains a standard of pouring Guinness that isn't an embarrassment to all that's Irish, so I won't.) That is the sole clear advantage to the new location: Finding food fit to eat is as simple as crossing the street. We ate at Cafe Baci--a half hour in the shade, and I was more than ready for a macchiato.
In the past, if you needed a hot beverage and a place to sip it, there was always a stand with tepid brew and expensive shortbread. I'm not sure if that, like the Heavy Athletics, is a casualty of the smaller space or a change in sponsors. I seem to recall that the Highland Dance tent was underwritten by some Scottish tourist agency; now that it's all under the aegis of Fly Nova Scotia, the various promotional booths have all vanished. I counted a grand total of eight society stands (the Cornish didn't make it back this year, though the Manx did) and a roughly equal number of vendors; that seems half what it was only a year ago. Hard times or a hard time from the organisers?
Bitch whine moan kvetch--what about the music? Even that was more disappointing than in years past, but it still deserves better treatment than I can offer it in a codicil to this post.
As for the Fest itself, meh. I'm agnostic about whether it works in the space. Before, everything was arranged along Columbus Avenue, which made it easy to get an overview of events and tents. Now it's all spread over three levels, so when you're at the Next Generation tent (just off Michigan), you haven't the foggiest what is happening on the main stage at Pritzker, and vice versa. I overheard some of the concessions operators complaining about being stuck on the far side of the pavilion grounds and I don't blame them; their share of the foot traffic was minimal.
Concessions have always been the weakest point of Celtic Fest, and now they're only weaker. We may have joked every year about the presence of a Thai place, but at least it was another option. This year there were all of three vendors who weren't affiliated with the Park Grille (which is three more than I expected to see, frankly). But the most galling affront was the beer. Fucking Budweiser, are you kidding me? I did not come all the way up here from St Louis to have that swill at my city festivals.
Fortunately, anticipating the poor pours of Guinness that are part of Celtic Fest tradition, Nuphy and I met up first at the Gage. (I'm sure no one wants to hear me go on again about how this is the one bar in Chicago which maintains a standard of pouring Guinness that isn't an embarrassment to all that's Irish, so I won't.) That is the sole clear advantage to the new location: Finding food fit to eat is as simple as crossing the street. We ate at Cafe Baci--a half hour in the shade, and I was more than ready for a macchiato.
In the past, if you needed a hot beverage and a place to sip it, there was always a stand with tepid brew and expensive shortbread. I'm not sure if that, like the Heavy Athletics, is a casualty of the smaller space or a change in sponsors. I seem to recall that the Highland Dance tent was underwritten by some Scottish tourist agency; now that it's all under the aegis of Fly Nova Scotia, the various promotional booths have all vanished. I counted a grand total of eight society stands (the Cornish didn't make it back this year, though the Manx did) and a roughly equal number of vendors; that seems half what it was only a year ago. Hard times or a hard time from the organisers?
Bitch whine moan kvetch--what about the music? Even that was more disappointing than in years past, but it still deserves better treatment than I can offer it in a codicil to this post.