This is one great week to be Irish in Philly, and not just because the Philadelphia Ceilii Group’s annual (year 34, folks) traditional music and dance festival starts on Thursday (but let’s face it, if you’ve ever been there, you know it’s an exciting three days on nonstop music, dancing, and carrying on and you love it.)
There’s also the Green Lane Scottish Irish Festival, which promoters say will go on rain or shine.
On Sunday, you have a good deed to do.
Now, you won’t need your walking shoes until October for the annual Susan B. Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk, but you can put on your dancing shoes for the fundraiser a group of local Irish women have planned for Sunday, September 7.
Courtney Malley, BethAnn Bailey, Rosaleen McGill and Anne McNiff—all “residents” of our online Irish community, BallyPhilly—will be participating in the annual walk to raise money for breast cancer research as part of a team of 14 whose goal is to drum up $35,000. They first posted news of the benefit on BallyPhilly to encourage other virtual residents to help out. (There’s lots of interesting stuff going on in the little village of BallyPhilly—proof that if you build it, they will come and take over.) Then, with the help of local musician and manager Fintan Malone, brought in the livewire group, the Hooligans, to play at the beef-and-beer benefit, scheduled for 4-9 PM at the Irish Center, 6815 Emlen Street, in Philadelphia’s Mt. Airy section. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, and covers everything, including food (if you’re not into beef, there will also be vegetarian options). You can order advance tickets at www.theirishcenter.com/ceili.php.
This is a great cause—Philly’s own version of “Stand Up to Cancer”—so get out, enjoy yourself, and feel good all over because you helped fight a disease that kills an estimated 40,000 women and nearly 400 men a year.
Also on Sunday, a rare chance to see Irish singer-songwriter Luka Bloom (he’s the younger brother of Irish folk singer Christy Moore). An interesting thing about the guitarist, who has played with Eileen Ivers: His style is called “electro-acoustic” but he plays in DADGAD tuning, which is a common tuning for Irish traditional music. While he plays his own material, he’s also done covers of Elvis, LLCoolJ, ABBA, and Bob Marley. Can you say, eclectic, boys and girls? You can catch this amazing guy at the World Café in Philadelphia, a great venue.
Thursday through Saturday, September 11-13, save room for the 34th Annual Philadelphia Ceili Group Traditional Irish Music and Dance Festival, which will be held at the Irish Center. See our story for all the details. Seriously, if you love Irish music, or if you’re a folkie, this is the most fun you’ll have since the ‘60s, about which the wise guys say, ”If you can remember it, you weren’t there.” So create some new memories.
And remember to check out our calendar for all the details–darn thing can’t keep a secret.
And my ankle is still broken, so please, enjoy some of these events for me.
