Bob Hurst will bring his Bogside Rogues to Canstatters this weekend.
Canstatters in the Northeast is hosting a three-day Irish fest featuring a terrific lineup of performers, including Jamison, the Bogside Rogues, the Screaming Orphans, Celtic Connection, the Kilmaine Saints, the Highland Rovers and the Sean Fleming Band. The event starts with boxing tonight, with the Harrowgate fighters of Philadelphia facing the Holy Family boxers of Belfast.
Holy Family Boxers—doesn’t exactly inspire terror, does it? But I hear they’re fierce.
You Trentonians and other Jersey folk, the Mercer County Irish Fest takes place this weekend at Mercer County Park, with the Bantry Boys, the Broken Shillelaghs, Gaelic Mishap, Ballycastle, the Celtic Martins, Birmingham 6 and Jamison Celtic Rock.
Speaking of the Broken Shillelaghs, they’re also at the Dubh Linn Square Pub in Bordentown on Saturday.
Also this Saturday, the film, “A Terrible Beauty,” will be screened at International House in Philadelphia. The film takes a sharp focus on events leading up to the 1916 Easter Rising and is produced and directed by the brothers who did the film on Duffy’s Cut. The showing is a fundraiser for the Irish Immigration Center. For more information, read our story.
Next week, mark your calendars starting on Thursday night for the 40th Annual Philadelphia Ceili Group Festival of Irish Music and Dance at the Irish Center, featuring a singer’s night, a rambling house (a variety show), and a concert featuring the hot new Irish group, Full Set, and Sean Keane. Gabriel Donohue is running the Rambling House event and he’s been making noises on Facebook about bringing in some surprise guests to delight and amaze—though we can’t imagine anyone more delightful and amazing than last year’s guest, Joanie Madden of Cherish the Ladies. That was one for the books.
Coming up: Quizzo Night on September 19, a special benefit for the Irish Center Fundraising Campaign (which is only about $10,000 away from its $50,000 goal, thank you very much!). Teams will be competing for prizes, like restaurant gift certificates and t-shirts, and expect some tough competition and laughter at the losers’ expense.
Later this month: Bethlehem’s Celtic Classic and the Irish Fall Festival in North Wildwood. One features big burly men who toss their cabers, the other, big burly men who toss their cookies. Just checking to see who reads to the end. Have an Irish week!
