houstonmacbro Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 iFest Dates & Hours Weekends of April 18-19 & 25-26, 2009 Admission ticket required NEW FESTIVAL HOURS: Saturdays 12pm to 10pm Sundays 12pm to 9pm Free iFest Preview Day with Opening Ceremony and Lunchtime Concerts Friday April 17th at City Hall 11:00am to 2:00pm No admission ticket required Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Is that Los Lobos? Jesus, when did they get so old? Oh, wait..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Is that Los Lobos? No, that's Orson Welles, in cognito. Jesus, when did they get so old? Oh, wait..... Yeah, it was probably about the same time we got so old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Is that Los Lobos? Jesus, when did they get so old? Oh, wait.....they'll be by the turkey legs and caribbean dancers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 they'll be by the turkey legs and caribbean dancers. that's ok, my BFFs are coming for a visit the first weekend weekend of i-fest. Ohio Players headlining! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 Looks like a pretty good and diverse line up. I have never been to iFest and so this year I am going to 'try' and make it. Wish me luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I would have to keep calling it International Festival. Supposedly clever constructions like "iFest" make my teeth hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 I would have to keep calling it International Festival. Supposedly clever constructions like "iFest" make my teeth hurt. The "i" does give it a certain Apple-esque or high-tech sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 The "i" does give it a certain Apple-esque or high-tech sound.Eh. It sounds late 90s and a little pathetic to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieMay Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I would have to keep calling it International Festival. Supposedly clever constructions like "iFest" make my teeth hurt. Maybe they changed the name to avoid confusion with the Houston International Film Festival, AKA Worldfest? Hey, I remember when "Ifest" was the Main Street Art Festival. (And I've been known to call the Rodeo the Fat Stock Show.) Still, it's a great lineup of music & usually lots of fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 The "i" does give it a certain Apple-esque or high-tech sound.Arguably, but it's a municipal festival. You don't need to sound high-tech when you are a place people go to eat greasy turkey wings. I suspect it was an attack of marketing consultants.I do like the font in the "iFest" logo though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I would have to keep calling it International Festival. Supposedly clever constructions like "iFest" make my teeth hurt. And the Editor's worse nightmare has come true!!!! Are the Themes really relevent? If so, I would like to attend this one. I went to Ireland last summer. Spent more on drinks there in 2 nights then I did the rest of my 3 week trip.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 I didn't know Los Lobos were Irish. Glad to see the Blaggards playing at the official opening ceremony. What would a festival celebrating Ireland be without a little Stout Irish Rock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Are the Themes really relevent? Not especially. They typically will have some representative music or dance from the theme country, but 95% of it seems to be the same from year to year. Still, there's not a lot of downside to having a theme country, except that without one the festival wouldn't be international, so they would have to ditch the "iFest" tag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjie0301 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I love the I-Fest, so I'll be there . I went to one or two back in the mid 80's when I was a kid and rediscovered it 5 years ago. The only one that I wasn't into was when it moved to Reliant Park a few years back. I still went and had fun, but it just wasn't the same without the backdrop of beautiful downtown Houston . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieMay Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I didn't know Los Lobos were Irish. Glad to see the Blaggards playing at the official opening ceremony. What would a festival celebrating Ireland be without a little Stout Irish Rock?Los Lobos have played with the Chieftains. Of course, everybody has played with the Chieftains. This year's International Festival ends with a Celtic/Conjunto/Zydeco Accordion Throwdown!The jam session finale is becoming a tradition on the iFest World MusicStage. This year's edition features World Stage headliners Los Lobos, the legendary Chicano roots-rockers from East L.A., joined by members of the Irish band Beoga, fiddler Kevin Burke, Tejano accordionist Joel Guzman and Houston's Lil Brian Terry in a "Celtic/Conjunto/Zydeco" accordion throwdown. We don't know what will happen, and neither do they. But it will be something that has never happened before on a Houston stage, and may never happen again.Every year, the selected country supplies some performers & the theme for some Festival structures. But there are always local & regional acts. Plus national artists & a few international ones from other countries. The mix usually works pretty well. This is Houston, after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 When I lived in Houston, I stopped going to the International Festival because the theme was just a token. I remember one year it was supposed to be a French theme. There was no French food available, only taco wagons and the usual Houston fair fare as far as the eye could see. Same artists selling the same art they do at every fair. Mexican band playing in Tranquility Park. The only thing "French" about it was a sand sculpture of the Eiffel Tower that was unmanned and ignored in a corner.Unless things have changed radically in the last five years, all downtown Houston "fests" are pretty much the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 When I lived in Houston, I stopped going to the International Festival because the theme was just a token. I remember one year it was supposed to be a French theme. There was no French food available, only taco wagons and the usual Houston fair fare as far as the eye could see. Same artists selling the same art they do at every fair. Mexican band playing in Tranquility Park. The only thing "French" about it was a sand sculpture of the Eiffel Tower that was unmanned and ignored in a corner.Unless things have changed radically in the last five years, all downtown Houston "fests" are pretty much the same.This year will be my first time going since I left town in the mid 90s. They've changed their marketing quite a bit so I wonder if we'll actually get more 'theme'. Totally agree with editor, it used to be a good outdoor festival but never really saw much theme stuff. I wish the food was better at these things. All it takes is one trip to Jazz Fest, or NIOSA or Folk Life in San Antonio, and Houston festival food just seems tiny and sad. Do they serve St Arnold's at Int'l Fest now, or are we at still at the mercy of the Bud distributor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 half price tickets if you order by today (online only) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsb320 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I just looked up the dates and it's not for another few weeks (04/18 & 19 and 04/25 & 26).Does anyone know what all of the tents were for in Martha Hermann Square, in front of City Hall, yesterday? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 half price tickets if you order by today (online only)The ticket site requires that you fill in the ticketholders names on the order form. Why do they need names? Plus, charging $1.25 per ticket. On a $7.50 transaction? Not bloody likely.That must be the theme connection. The Irish mob is selling tix for a 20% cut. No thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 half price tickets if you order by today (online only)I guess that's something else I never understood about Houston festivals -- why do almost all of them have paid admission? The only one I can think of that doesn't is the Art Car Parade. I can't remember being at a festival in any city other than Houston that charges admission. Doesn't the city WANT people to come downtown? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I guess that's something else I never understood about Houston festivals -- why do almost all of them have paid admission? The only one I can think of that doesn't is the Art Car Parade. I can't remember being at a festival in any city other than Houston that charges admission. Doesn't the city WANT people to come downtown?that's why the art car parade broke away from the ifest. they were putting too many demands on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieMay Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 When I lived in Houston, I stopped going to the International Festival because the theme was just a token. I remember one year it was supposed to be a French theme. There was no French food available, only taco wagons and the usual Houston fair fare as far as the eye could see. Same artists selling the same art they do at every fair. Mexican band playing in Tranquility Park. The only thing "French" about it was a sand sculpture of the Eiffel Tower that was unmanned and ignored in a corner.Unless things have changed radically in the last five years, all downtown Houston "fests" are pretty much the same.Congratulations, you figured it out! Yes, the International Festival features music, food & other artifacts from the Country Of The Year. But it doesn't ban everything else. The schedule says there will be demonstrations of Irish Cuisine, but many other options will be available. I'm sure any vendors of Irish food will be welcomed--but there really aren't that many down here. (Warning: If you're looking for the heights of culinary mastery, look elsewhere!) There will be music besides the "noodley-noodley" stuff. I love Irish trad. But I love Los Lobos, too. And I'll be glad to hear a variety of zydeco, cajun, blues & folk. Plus new stuff, like these guys:Pistoleros de Texas evokes the very essence of Gulf Coast music. With influences of traditional Tex-Mex Conjunto, Norte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 (I hear tell your fine city of Chicago even has Mexicans, nowadays. Does that upset you?)Why should it? I don't understand what you're trying to imply. I merely stated an opinion that all of Houston's festivals seem the same regardless of what they call themselves or any supposed theme. It's a sentiment that other current and former Houstonians agree with both in this thread and elsewhere on HAIF. Why the sarcasm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieMay Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Why should it? I don't understand what you're trying to imply. I merely stated an opinion that all of Houston's festivals seem the same regardless of what they call themselves or any supposed theme. It's a sentiment that other current and former Houstonians agree with both in this thread and elsewhere on HAIF. Why the sarcasm?Your specifically mentioned taco wagons & a Mexican band when complaining that the "French" International Festival was insufficiently French. Just a coincidence that you singled out that ethnicity? The Festival does offer more variety than that. When did you last attend?It's not The Perfect Festival. I agree that it was better when it was free; even though tickets are reasonable, the "feeling" was more pleasant. But some of us Houstonians will be able to eke out a bit of enjoyment. Especially since, all too soon, it will be too damned hot to do much of anything outside. Don't begrudge us our meager pleasures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fringe Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 There was no French food availableI beg to differ. I remember eating french fries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsb320 Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 I wonder if they will have Irish potatoes on a stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 i'm hoping for some drunken hyland games! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsb320 Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 I just looked up the dates and it's not for another few weeks (04/18 & 19 and 04/25 & 26).Does anyone know what all of the tents were for in Martha Hermann Square, in front of City Hall, yesterday?The tents were still up yesterday, so they were up Monday and Tuesday. Any clues what event this is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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