Practicing in the halls: Mid-Atlantic Oireachtas this weekend in Philly.
A very Happy Bird Day to you this week. On either side of Thanksgiving, there are plenty of ways to get your Irish on.
“Woman and Scarecrow,” Marina Carr’s play about life and death, finishes up its run this week at Villanova Theatre (November 20).
Recession or not, many local Irish bands are certainly getting work. You can hear Jamison at Curran’s in Northeast Philly which we hear (from one of the bartenders!) is a hopping spot all weekend. On Saturday night, with Jamison there, it will be a jigging spot.
The John Byrne Band will be doing an acoustic set at MilkBoy Coffee in Ardmore on Saturday night. It’s a great BYOB venue where you can actually hear the music you paid to hear, and not the loud conversations of the patrons which you didn’t pay to hear. (Yes, you’ll know us at the concerts—we’re the ones wearing the “Shut up and listen” buttons.)
The Broken Shillelaghs will be rocking Thanksgiving eve on Wednesday at McMichael’s Pub in Gloucester City, NJ. We’ve told you about Gloucester City before—just over the bridge, on the river, and Irish as all get-out.
On the same night, the Gloucester County AOH is hosting an open house at their place—Richard Rossiter Memorial Hall—in National Park, NJ. That’s really just over the bridge.
And since we’re coming up on Thanksgiving weekend, that means that the Oireachtas is in town! Pronounced or-ack-tus, it’s a major regional championship competition for Irish dancers big and small that’s held every year at the Downtown Marriott in Center City. It’s worth it to make a trip downtown to see the Christmas lights, have lunch, and watch some Irish dancing.
Also Thanksgiving weekend: The annual Donegal Ball and the Mary from Dungloe pageant. The reigning Mary, Stephanie Lennon, will give up her crown.
Check the calendar for any last-minute additions.
