As the old saying goes, there’s no rest for the Celtic. We’ve barely put our “Kiss Me I’m Irish” beads away for another year and we’ve still got things to do.
This Wednesday, March 26, for instance, you can take a break from all things Irish and catch the Battlefield Band at the Sellersville Theater. They’re Scottish and Grammy-nominated too!
Then it’s back to Ireland on Thursday, March 27, when the first of the Irish Film Series debuts at the Irish Center in Mt. Airy. Jointly sponsored by the Irish Center, irishphiladelphia.com, and WTMR radio personality Marianne MacDonald, the first in a series of six great Irish films will be “The Boys and Girl from County Clare,” a romantic comedy centering on a ceili band competition. Fintan Malone, who knows more than a little about ceili bands, will be on hand to moderate a discussion afterwards. Malone, who plays in at least two bands (Blarney and the Malones) and anchors sessions at The Shanachie and McKinley’s Tavern, is a native of Milltown Malbay, County Clare, where his family’s pub is a hotbed of Irish traditional music. Admission is free. And unlike most movie theaters, you can watch the flick with your favorite brew in hand and some of Barry Club manager John Nolan’s world famous fries. You may never eat popcorn again. Read about it here.
On Friday night, March 28, legendary fiddler Kevin Burke and guitarist Cal Scott will appear at the Chester County Cultural Center in West Chester.
And though we usually wait to tell you about the next weekend, we want you to have a heads up: On Saturday, March 29, there will be a massive cook-in in Northeast Philadelphia to benefit the Hibernian Hunger Project. An estimated 10,000 meals will be cooked and frozen to feed the needy. This might be a good time to join the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, who do this several times a year, God bless them!
This is also the weekend you can see:
•McDermott’s Handy at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts in Dover, DE
•Tiarna O’Duinnchinn and Stephanie Makem performing Irish music from Counties Monaghan and Armagh at the Coatesville Cultural Center.
And if you’re in a dancing mood, the Tyrone Society’s 99th annual Ball is on tap at the Irish Center.
Haven’t seen a St. Pat’s Parade yet? Allentown is bringing up the rear on Sunday with its parade, which is preceded by a Mass and a full Irish breakfast.
As usual, all the gory details are on our calendar, which is under consideration for a Pultizer, an Emmy, and the Nobel Peace Prize. Martha Stewart wants to decorate it with tiny little marzipan flowers for Easter too, but we said no.
