Keegan Loesel will be competing in Ireland on the tin whistle.
This weekend 1,300 cyclists will be launching themselves from one Irish Pub to another. No, not a major pub crawl. It’s the annual Tour de Shore sponsored by the Irish Pub in Philly and in Atlantic City that raises money for local charities that support children via its nonprofit Irish Pub Children’s Foundation.
In its 21-year history, the Irish Pub Children’s Foundation has raised more than $1.2 million for nonprofits including The Variety Club of Philadelphia, the Hero Scholarship Fund, the FOP Survivors Fund and Project H.O.M.E. You can cheer the cyclists on from the Irish Pub on Walnut Street at around 7 AM and then meet up with them at the Irish Pub in Atlantic City later in the day.
If you prefer armchair sports, head over to the Irish Center in Mt. Airy on Saturday morning to watch GAA sports televised live from Ireland.
A group of musicians are coming together at Brittingham’s Irish Restaurant in Lafayette Hill on Sunday morning to play and raise money for Alex Weir and Keegan Loesel, two youngsters who will be traveling to Ireland in August to compete in the All-Ireland music competitions (on fiddle and whistle respectively). Laine Walker-Hughes, fiddler with Belfast Connection, has organized this brunch ceili, as well as a raffle.
Also on Sunday, another fundraiser for three New Jersey kids also heading to Cavan town to compete, this one at Christ Episcopal Church in Somers Point. They’re three-time Mid-Atlantic under-12 Irish fiddle champion Haley Richardson, her brother Dylan who took second in the under-15 accompaniment competition, and Emily Safko who placed second in under-12 harp, first in harp slow air, and first with her partner (Alex Weir) in duets.
Jamison—winner (best Irish band) of the Strangford Lough Brewery “battle of the bands” last year–will perform at Keenan’s Irish Pub in N. Wildwood on Saturday night (with CJ and John doing an acoustic session at Tucker’s in Wildwood later on. Then they’re back on stage again on Sunday at Shenanigan’s in Sea Isle City. Busy weekend.
Speaking of busy, also on Sunday: Goitse, a five-piece band who trace their roots to the University of Limerick, will perform at Timothy’s on the Riverfront in Wilmington, DE.
Musikfest, Bethlehem’s eclectic version of Woodstock (not really), kicks off on Friday, August 5, and a number of notable Irish/Celtic acts are scheduled to perform, including RUNA, Barleyjuice, Scythian, Gaelic Storm, the Jameson Sisters, and Amarach, a Lehigh Valley group that calls its style “smokin’ Irish.”
And all you Irish dancers, dance moms and dance dads: The documentary, “Jig,” which looks at the 40th annual Irish dance championships in Glasgow, Scotland, opens Friday at the Bala Theater in Bala Cynwyd. One critic described it as “Spellbound meets Lord of the Dance.” Actually, it’s about all the work and dedication kids and their families put into competition dancing–something you know all about.
Coming up: RUNA performing with the Canadian Celtic fusion group, the Town Pants, at Sellersville Theatre, and Moya Brennan of Clannad with Cormac de Barra. Okay, what do those two groups have in common? Why, it’s the de Barra brothers. Fionan de Barra plays with RUNA (with his wife, Shannon Lambert-Ryan) and once played with Moya Brennan with his brother, Cormac. Cormac is a championship harper, Fionan plays guitar and several other instruments. Family reunion?
