Celtic Woman 20th Anniversary Tour

Going back to the "old" M&G, the girls would sign things for you.  I have signed tickets, a Mairead Fiddler Crossing sign, and a bunch of photos.  The most interesting is a t-shirt from 2009.  They did 2 shows at RCMC.  I went to both and got 4 signatures.  It was luck that I got another M&G later in the year and got whoever was the missing girl! 

Another interesting story was after Chloe was out on her own.  Saw her at an Irish bar in Jacksonville, FL.  (Note -- that's where I discovered I like Irish whisky).  I had gone to a number of CW shows with my daughter and Chloe had met her and asked about her at other shows.  My daughter was graduating from college about a week after Chloe's concert.  I took a card and asked Chloe if she would sign it for my daughter.  Not only did she write a very nice note in it, she gave me a T-shirt and her CD for my daughter!

Wow! You guys are amazing!

Just curious. If you get a pre-show M&G, do you still try the stage door post-show?

Absolutely yes! We want to talk to them as much as we possibly can!

The most shows I ever did in one year was 13.  Interesting that that was the year I was kinda burned out and said I wasn't going to travel very much.  Went to what I think (without looking it up) was the first show of the tour.  This was where the girls came out in the audience for the start of TAR.  I was on the end of the 2nd row.  Lisa L was on my side.  She sat in an empty seat next to me!  That's when I fell in love all over again!

I figured out that I have been to 36 different cities for shows; 84 total.  Then, there's another bunch where I went to see Chloe after she went out on her own, plus a couple shows Lisa Kelly did as well.

Such fun experiences and memories to have!

Going back to the "old" M&G, the girls would sign things for you.  I have signed tickets, a Mairead Fiddler Crossing sign, and a bunch of photos.  The most interesting is a t-shirt from 2009.  They did 2 shows at RCMC.  I went to both and got 4 signatures.  It was luck that I got another M&G later in the year and got whoever was the missing girl! 

Another interesting story was after Chloe was out on her own.  Saw her at an Irish bar in Jacksonville, FL.  (Note -- that's where I discovered I like Irish whisky).  I had gone to a number of CW shows with my daughter and Chloe had met her and asked about her at other shows.  My daughter was graduating from college about a week after Chloe's concert.  I took a card and asked Chloe if she would sign it for my daughter.  Not only did she write a very nice note in it, she gave me a T-shirt and her CD for my daughter!

Thanks for sharing! I love it!

In my spare time, I try to find everyone's old M&G posts or old concert posts here on CWF.

I have a meet and greet on March 1st in Fort Lauderdale and I'll let you guys know how they do them this year. Can't wait to see this tour!

OK. Thanks!

I saw CW shows on two different PBS stations today.
- One ad says "M&G with two of the ladies".
- One ad says "Meet and take photos with a few members".

So a package showed up today from the Fort Myers, FL PBS station.  Key paragraph:

This meet and greet will be a signature and photo op experience, we want to provide you with the best experience possible however we are at the mercy of and must adhere to each venue's specific requirements and constraints in terms of space backstage and the time allotted.

My 2nd M&G was in Fort Myers back in 2009.  It was after the show.  They had it in a room somewhere backstage.  Even had coffee and cookies while waiting for the girls -- in this case Chloe & Mairead.  My daughter was with me. She was 16 at the time.  She was very shy.  Chloe did an absolutely wonderful job of putting her at ease!  Over the years, we met Chloe a lot.  She always remembered us.  Several times when I was by myself, she even asked about my daughter.

Did another M&G in 2013.  Same venue.  The photo op was in a stairwell!!

So a package showed up today from the Fort Myers, FL PBS station.  Key paragraph:

This meet and greet will be a signature and photo op experience, we want to provide you with the best experience possible however we are at the mercy of and must adhere to each venue's specific requirements and constraints in terms of space backstage and the time allotted.

Oh that's helpful. I guess that's all you can ask for.

I thought Postcards M&G was not rushed, they signed whatever I had with me, handed out the signed poster, and a photo op with all 4 (although they are wearing masks). That's about as good as it gets. I was wondering if it was 'improved' because it was the first M&G after the pandemic. So I'm extra curious how it will be this year.

So a package showed up today from the Fort Myers, FL PBS station.  Key paragraph:

This meet and greet will be a signature and photo op experience, we want to provide you with the best experience possible however we are at the mercy of and must adhere to each venue's specific requirements and constraints in terms of space backstage and the time allotted.

My 2nd M&G was in Fort Myers back in 2009.  It was after the show.  They had it in a room somewhere backstage.  Even had coffee and cookies while waiting for the girls -- in this case Chloe & Mairead.  My daughter was with me. She was 16 at the time.  She was very shy.  Chloe did an absolutely wonderful job of putting her at ease!  Over the years, we met Chloe a lot.  She always remembered us.  Several times when I was by myself, she even asked about my daughter.

Did another M&G in 2013.  Same venue.  The photo op was in a stairwell!!

Have some M&G locations depended on the type of venue that the show is in??? For example I did a M&G in 2017. I attended the show at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester MN. Mayo Civic Center is a multiroom building and had just completed renovations. Part of the renovation meant some moving of the box offices (there are more than 1). There are three performing spaces. A large auditorium where our local Eagles club has a 20 hour telethon every January which I try to attend often and have also attended The Price is Right Live, Anne Murray, Four Tonic Sol Fa concerts, Under the Streetlamp, Beatles vs. Stones among others, a smaller theater type room called the Presentation Hall where I've seen local ballets and also a lot of lower key musical acts such as Judy Collins, Peter Yarrow, a tribute to John Denver, Art Garfunkel, Home Free, Tonic Sol Fa, Oak Ridge Boys, Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt to name a few (often the type of room someone might choose if they come with either a small band, minimal production or no band at all) and an arena which is where Celtic Woman has come three times (I attended the latter two shows that came and have also seen Steve Martin & Martin Short, Sesame Street Live, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, A Prairie Home Companion, a screening with Ken Burns and Jim Gaffigan among other things). On Meet & Greet Day the way it worked was got the passes from one of the box offices, came back after a while, escorted into one of the newer built rooms off to the side, venue staff went and got the ladies and they lined up: this show it went Eabha, Tara, Susan and Mairead. The way I did it was went one by one, shaking hands and saying hello before taking a picture.
Do they always do front row seats???

I have a meet and greet on March 1st in Fort Lauderdale and I'll let you guys know how they do them this year. Can't wait to see this tour!

OK. Thanks!

I saw CW shows on two different PBS stations today.
- One ad says "M&G with two of the ladies".
- One ad says "Meet and take photos with a few members".

Were the tickets for different shows?? Is it possible some venues will do them differently than others??

Obviously COVID changed everything. 

Going back maybe 10 years ago, I was at a M&G in Tampa, FL.  Had a post-show reception sponsored by the PBS station.  Wine!!!  Chloe and Mairead were sitting behind a table signing things.  I was one of the last ones in line (hey, wine!).  When I got to the table, Chloe recognized me, got up and walked around the table to give me a hug.  PBS lady running the M&G about had a heart attack.  Then, Mairead did the same thing.

^^^
@dbbii : Wow! That's a real VIP! I bet others at the M&G were wondering who you were!

I have a meet and greet on March 1st in Fort Lauderdale and I'll let you guys know how they do them this year. Can't wait to see this tour!

OK. Thanks!

I saw CW shows on two different PBS stations today.
- One ad says "M&G with two of the ladies".
- One ad says "Meet and take photos with a few members".

Were the tickets for different shows?? Is it possible some venues will do them differently than others??

Yes, these are at two different venues. I would think the M&G should be the same. From here on CWF, it sounds like it has been all 4 ladies at the M&G lately. I'm assuming it'll be all 4, but my PBS stations don't want to guarantee it for some reason. IDK

Obviously COVID changed everything. 

Going back maybe 10 years ago, I was at a M&G in Tampa, FL.  Had a post-show reception sponsored by the PBS station.  Wine!!!  Chloe and Mairead were sitting behind a table signing things.  I was one of the last ones in line (hey, wine!).  When I got to the table, Chloe recognized me, got up and walked around the table to give me a hug.  PBS lady running the M&G about had a heart attack.  Then, Mairead did the same thing.

A RECEPTION!!!!!!! WOW. They must've only done it on that particular tour.

What I've seen over the years, is when CW was intially starting out, they did a lot with PBS.  Today, not so much for a lot of reasons. 

It used to be when you got a M&G, you got front row tickets.  A couple years ago (pre-COVID), my PBS tickets were in something like Row 12.  And that was with a M&G.  If I wanted "front" tickets, these were only being sold by the venue to their supporters.  In other words, if you bought a season ticket to their, for example, Broadway Series, you could buy good tickets for other shows.

Some of this is probably due to the venue.  The management of a lot of venues has been outsourced to private companies, even though the venue is owned by the government.  It's about money.  On some level, I get that.  I may not like it, but ...

Back in December, I was at Lisa Kelly's Masterclass.  One question that was asked of her is "are you going to do another show?"  She said she would like to, but there are a lot of issues with trying to deal with the local amphitheatre.  Again, it was apparently built as a community facility.  Now, it's really not.

Last Friday I had a PBS meet & greet in Fort Lauderdale. They brought us into a room that had lots of tables and food, so people were asking if the food was for us but it was just where the cast and crew had eaten earlier. All four of the ladies were there. It was pretty much the same as meet and greets that we had pre-covid. The ladies stood in a corner and everyone lined up to say hello and take a photo. Gregg & I kept letting people go in front of us so we could be last. Their tour manager has seen us plenty of times and he lets us have plenty of time with the ladies. We each got to chat with all four of them and we weren't rushed. The corner they were in was kind of dark, but the photos still turned out nicely. It was before the show and they were in their first act dresses. We had a great time!

Last Friday I had a PBS meet & greet in Fort Lauderdale. They brought us into a room that had lots of tables and food, so people were asking if the food was for us but it was just where the cast and crew had eaten earlier. All four of the ladies were there. It was pretty much the same as meet and greets that we had pre-covid. The ladies stood in a corner and everyone lined up to say hello and take a photo. Gregg & I kept letting people go in front of us so we could be last. Their tour manager has seen us plenty of times and he lets us have plenty of time with the ladies. We each got to chat with all four of them and we weren't rushed. The corner they were in was kind of dark, but the photos still turned out nicely. It was before the show and they were in their first act dresses. We had a great time!

Sounds great, esp. that you weren't rushed. Is there time to get a CD signed? You see them so much, your probably don't think about autographs any more. 

Thanks for the info!!!