It’s official now: There’s a way to be Irish just about every day of the week in the region. We know, since we put together the calendar. Between sessions and special events, there’s something going on just about all the time, even leading up to Christmas and beyond.
On Sunday, for example, McCarthy’s Tea Room in Bethlehem is holding a Winter Solstice Tea. (Will there be Druids?) Let’s see if you’re up for it after you’ve gone on Friday night to the Winter Extravaganza Show with Andy Cooney at the Irish Center (dinner, dancing, and the wonderful and really cute Andy Cooney, plus a comic, dancers and others), seen Scythian in Sellersville, The Broken Shillelaghs in Gloucester City, or enjoyed an evening with Seamus Kennedy at Bethlehem’s Ice House.
There’s a session every night leading up to Christmas—at Kildare’s Fado, Shanachie, and a Piece of Ireland pubs. The Auld Dubliner Pub in Gloucester City, NJ, will be holding its Christmas party on Sunday, December 21, starting at 4 PM featuring local favorites, The Malones and Their Cousin, and a special visit from Father Christmas, who we understand is in the area all week. It’s a family-oriented place, so you can bring the kids. And your dancing shoes.
The slow session at the Irish Center has been cancelled for the day after Christmas. But not so the appearance of 2U, the World’s Second Best U2 Show, scheduled for the Sellersville Theatre at 8:30 that night.
On December 28, two of Philadelphia’s finest actors, Michael Toner and Jack Barrett, will be performing two monologues with a Celtic flavor at Fergie’s Pub on Sansom Street in the city. It’s a fundraiser to help local playwright, William Rolleri, produce his latest work, “The Brothers Flanagan,” about two Grays Ferry pub owners whose business is being sharply curtailed by a local serial killer. We smell “dark comedy!” We recently interviewed Bill Rolleri and you can read all about him and his work next week on www.irishphiladelphia.com.
And you don’t have to worry about being Irish on New Year’s Eve. Scythian, those crazy Celtic-Gypsy-Klezmer musicians from DC, are holding a “Mad, Mad, Masquerade” at the Stotesbury Mansion in Philadelphia, and there’s a 32-County Ball at the Irish Center, with music, food, dancing, and a parade of flags that’s in no danger of being canceled because of city budget cuts.
Don’t forget to eat, drink, and shop Irish. Check out our calendar for more details on these and other Irish events in the area. And have a wonderful Christmas!
Check this spot next week for a look ahead at the big (and small) events of the new year.
