Fun stuff this weekend to bring a chilly end to January and launch us into February, which is shaping up to be the month of fundraisers and benefits, many for the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Blackthorn is rocking Archbishop Ryan on Saturday night—a fundraiser for the Ryan Tuition Assistance Program. Although it’s a high school, high schoolers aren’t allowed. This is a strictly over-21 crowd.
AOH Notre Dame Division 1 is throwing a ceili dance on Saturday night at their hall in Swedesburg. Tom McHugh & Company will be providing the music.
On Sunday, AOH/LAOH 87 will be holding a benefit for member Donna Cannon whose daughter and her family lost everything in a house fire on New Year’s eve. The event, which will feature music and a Chinese auction, will be at the division’s Kevin Donnelly Hall on Wakeling Street in Philadelphia.
Also on Sunday, join the Sons and Daughters of Derry at the Irish Center for a Bloody Sunday Memorial Mass in memory of those who lost their lives during a clash between protesters and British soldiers in Derry’s Bogside neighborhood in 1972.
February starts with a bang on Monday as Maura O’Connell, lead vocalist of DeDanaan, appears at Sellerville with Shannon Lambert-Ryan and Runa, a Philadelphia-based Celtic group.
New to our calendar: John Byrne of the John Bryne Group is regularly anchoring a ballad and Irish trad session at Slainte at 30th and Market Street, across from 30th Street Station. Check him out this Tuesday.
Also new: It’s Irish Night at the Washington Crossing Inn on Wednesdays, featuring live music from Paddy’s Well, Boys of County Bucks, Connemara Codfish Company, Tullamore Trio and the Theresa Flanagan Band, with dinner and drink specials.
On Thursday, tune in early to WHYY-91 FM (between 6-10 AM) when reps from all over the Irish community will be taking pledges during College Challenge Week. Talk to your favorite Irish beauty queens (Rose of Tralee, Mary from Dungloe), journalists, Gaelic Athletic Association coaches, and immigration experts as you make your pledge. We expect to beat every other group they’ve scheduled this week—but, as they say during the fund drive, we can only do it with your help.
Speaking of beauty queens, on Friday, the lovely Rose of Tralee, Jocelyn McGillian, will be hosting a winter barbecue (yum) with music, food, drink, Quizzo, prizes, all to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation. It’s all happening at the Willows in Villanova. We’re hoping she’ll sing.
If you’re in Jersey, you can catch Sharon Lambert-Ryan and Runa at the Appel Farm in Elmer on Friday night.
This month, the Sunday WTMR-800AM radio shows will launch another on-air fund drive to get them through the beginning of the year. Listen in between 11 AM and 1PM and make a generous donation.
And don’t bother whipping up the chili for the Superbowl Party. Bring the family and friends to the Irish Center instead where you can watch the game on three big flat-screen TVs, enjoy a draft beer, and eat a sumptuous buffet that someone else is making—all for $20. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade which has been socked with some extra fees from the city.
Ahead—some terrific traditional music concerts planned for the Irish Center in the next two months leading up to St. Patrick’s Day. The Midwinter Scottish-Irish Festival in Valley Forge is on Valentine’s Day weekend (we’ll be there–stop by and say hi). And “The Irish and How They got That Way,” a musical by the late Frank McCourt (“Angela’s Ashes”), is at the Kimmel through the Irish holiday season. (We saw it last night and loved it.)
So, get your practice in for the big day. There’s nothing worse than being a St. Paddy’s Day Irishman. Or, as the rest of us refer to you, an amateur.
Check our calendar for all the details.
