Second time attending this event in the past approx. 5 years or so. Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day to spend outside, and this is definitely one of the true GEMS of Dayton's city festivals. We got lucky with nearby parking ($5) and were close enough to hear some STOMPING Celtic tunes as we walked over to the several closed off square blocks and downtown concert venues.
Good food, though I think there could/should be more true "authentic" choices (though there were nice SHORT lines for Greek, Thai, and Hungarian cabbage rolls!!!) and plenty of interesting vendors. I don't necessarily come to these events to shop (or eat) quite honestly, but enjoy the "cultural exchange," great free entertainment, the (usually) great weather, and the wonderful (and not so wonderful) people watching opportunities. The music WAS wonderful, the weather was perfect, but HOLY ERIN-GO-BRAGH, Dayton, you've got some of the absolutely WORST, MOST AGGRESSIVE CHAIR HOGS I've EVER seen, and I'm from NY, where we aggressively hog just about EVERYTHING!!! As the bands played on, and the wonderful Celtic spirit overtook our minds, hearts, and dancing SOLES, p.i.t.a. "squatters" took 4-6 chairs for every A$$ they had!! We gave up watching one of the main attraction bands, Scythian, because there was absolutely no place to stand/dance (understandable) and despite the ocean of "occupied" chairs, no place to sit either. We moved on to another tent, saw an equally great band perform, and didn't feel like we were back on the school bus in the third grade!! Solution? Easy enough, the next time we come, we'll bring our own chairs, but REALLY....... There were PLENTY of chairs for everyone, and I can't understand (yes I can...) why people have to be such petty HOGS!!!
Ok, rant over... It's a GREAT festival, well-organized, with plenty to see and do. Wonderful music, and the TRUE solution to the chair "woes" is to just get and stay off your butt and DANCE!!! :-) read more