Still recovering from turkey day? One of the best ways to work off all those extra calories is to attend the Donegal Ball on Saturday night. You can dance them away to the songs and tunes of The John Byrne Band. If you know John Byrne and his band, you know they do both Celtic and original songs, but we hear Byrne has an alter ego, a la David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, so technically you’ll be dancing to the songs and tunes of Johnny Shamrock. The guy’s from Dublin—he knows his jigs and reels and dance tunes.
You have other musical options on Saturday. The Broken Shillelaghs will be at Lazy Lanigan’s Publick House in Sewell, NJ; Jamison will be at Curran’s in Tacony; and the Shanty’s will be at the Red Rooster Inn in Philly..
This of course is Mid-Atlantic Regional Oireachtas weekend at the Downtown Marriott in Philadelphia—hundreds of Irish dancers competing through Sunday.
On Sunday morning at 11 AM, the St. Anne’s Historical Committee will be honoring the Irish Civil War soldiers buried in the church cemetery on Lehigh Street in Philadelphia.
In the afternoon, head to Westville, NJ, for the Shanagolden Sunday Set event. Bring your dancing shoes.
On Tuesday, the Sellersville Theater is holding a free event—yes, free! Singer Bill Monaghan will perform and there will be free cookies and hot chocolate.
On Wednesday, Albert Eintein Medical Center is holding doing free Tay-Sachs testing for people of Irish descent. This degenerative and fatal genetic disease of infants is more prevalent among certain ethnic groups, including Eastern European Jews, Cajuns, and the Irish.
On Wednesday night, celebrate “Christmas with the Celts,” featuring Irish and Scottish Christmas carols dating back to the 12th century combined with modern drums and pop vocals at the Sellersville Theater.
And on Friday, the amazing Moya Brennan of Clannad will be performing her Christmas show with her band at Sellersville Theater.
And to complete the Celtic Christmas mood, there will be two shows of An American Celtic Christmas at Bensalem High School on Saturday, December 7, featuring Jamison Celtic Rock, John Byrne, Kimberly Killen, DJ Dan Cronin, Celtic Flame Dancers and dancers from the Bucks County Dance Center.
The Philadelphia Rose of Tralee Center is holding its annual Christmas party with Santa on Saturday, December 7, at Maggie O’Neill’s in Drexel Hill. It’s kid-friendly with arts and crafts, face painting, music, and a visit from Santa. Bring non-perishable foods which will be donated to local food pantries.
