Along The Lines

NTIF 2013 is the 31st anniversary festival. We started life on March 3, 1983, when a small group of like-minded musicians created a small gathering at Nick Farrelly's Lounge (generally called the NFL Bar). The event was known as the "First Texas Ceili." Ceili (pronounced kay-lee) means a visit or gathering in Gaelic and is understood to involve musical entertainment and dance. The following year we moved home to the historical Fair Park where we have been ever since.

In addition to being our 31st festival, we also picked the theme of "Along the Lines" to highlight three of the significant contributions that the Irish immigrent brought to America: their music, literature and willingness to work constructing the railroad system. That gives us the three lines: the line of music, the line of text and the railway line, each of which will be featured in the 2013 festival.

Calling All Artists

We know it's short notice but that is the Irish way! Now that we have a theme for 2013 we need artwork for our posters, t-shirts, programs and web site, and we are asking all our artists out there to create and submit one or more designs for consideration.

There are some rules that we have to adhere to:

• Design must reflect the theme of "Along the Lines" - lines of music, literature and railroads.
• Design must be in good taste and suitable for display in schools, churches, stores, public transport etc.
• Design must be original artwork that is free of copyright and all other legal restrictions.
• Design must be produced in 300 dpi electronic format no smaller than 24 inches by 36 inches.
• We can only consider completed artwork. No concepts or sketches will be accepted.
• Design must be submitted in electronic format, preferably an Adobe PSD or PDF.
• Artist must assign copyright of the selected design to the Southwest Celtic Music Association.
• Email all submissions to artwork@ntif.org. Low resolution pdf copies will be acceptable for initial review.
• Deadline for submission is midnight on Friday, November 30th.

Please note that the artwork must be produced pro bono - we are a volunteer organization after all. However, the artist of the winning submission will receive two VIP weekend passes, free weekend parking, t-shirt, poster, recognition on the NTIF website, the poster and in the festival program as well as our grateful thanks.

Headline and Featured Performers Announced

The 2013 headline performers and their biographical information is now available. Featured performers are listed and will be updated as their bios and photographsbecome available. Go to Performers Page.

NTIF Host Hotel

You loved the Doubletree last year, and they loved having us there, so we are going back again. Contracts have been signed for the special room rate of $85 per night as long as you make a reservation before January.

Please note that we have a limited number of rooms that are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Unfortunately, last year a large number of people made additional "spare" reservations for friends etc., and then canceled them at the last minute. This meant that many people either chose not to stay or made reservations at other hotels. We were faced with either having to guarantee that the festival would pay for all canceled reservations, raise the room rate or require some kind of guarantee at the time of booking that the reservation would not be canceled. Since we are trying to limit our costs, we chose the latter, and you will now be billed for one night at the time of booking.

We are sorry that we have to do this, but we can hopefully accomodate everyone who wishes to stay at the hotel.

We do have an overflow hotel should the Doubletree become fully booked.

Special Note For Dog Owners

We have been granted special permission to have dogs at the Doubletree Hotel. This is an exception to their normal pet policy, and they are asking us to do what we can to get that word out. When you make your reservation please ensure that you are asking for the NTIF block and tell the receptionist that you will be bringing a dog. They will then place all pet owners in rooms in a dedicated pet friendly floor of the hotel.

Note also that you will be asked for a refundable pet deposit either in cash or on your credit card, and will be charged for any damage to the room or furnishings. This is a very fair requirement. If your pet behaves you will receive a full refund when you check out. Also note that dogs should not be left alone in the room for any extended time.

Local Transportation

The festival runs a complimentary shuttle service from the hotels to Fair Park Friday evening and all day Saturday and Sunday. Morning and evening the 40 seat shuttles run about every 20 minutes. During the midday hours less frequently. The dropoff point in Fair Park is at the circle at the end of First Avenue behind the Old Mill Inn. From there it is a 2 minute walk to the entrance gate.

Busses will run about 30 minutes after the end of the event to ensure that nobody is left behind in Fair Park overnight!

Please note that this is a service paid for and managed by NTIF, not the hotels. Please do not call them for details - they don't know all the details!

NTIF Logoed Apparel Now On Sale

We have now established an online sales system for a limited amount of NTIF Apparel. You can purchase your denim shirt, cap or jacket. Just click on this link and you will be redirected to the online sales site. We are starting out in a small way with a limited range. If it all works the way it should and there is sufficient demand, then we will expand the range later in the year. We are also checking our inventory of Festival T-shirts and will add those when we know how many we have. Sales are managed by AD/fx a local company that has produced our apparel for many years, and all purchases will be mailed to you within a couple of weeks.