Blackthorn on stage at Penns Landing.
If you don’t know how to get your Irish on this week, then you’re just not trying.
First off, and we mentioned this last week, but the Ancient Order of Hibernians Montgomery County Irish Festival, which started Friday night, continues through the weekend at Saint Michael’s Picnic Grove, 203 Jacob Street, in Mont Clare. It’s on the other side of the Schuylkill across from Phoenixville. $10 admission; kids under 12, free.
It’s a very family-friendly event, with music from Celtic Spirit and the Belfast Connection. Lots of food and fun. The festival runs from 10 a.m. till the cows come home on Saturday and Sunday.
Details.
Also on Saturday, the Philadelphia Irish Center plays host to Satharn Na Gael , an immersion course in the Irish language. If nothing else, you’ll learn how to pronounce “Satharn Na Gael”—and what it means. (We’re not saying.)
Seriously, we’ve attended this event , and it’s a great way to delve into your heritage. You’ll learn some useful words and phrases in the Irish language. (We remember one useful phrase in particular: “Bí ciúin!” Pretty sure it means, “shut up!” Which just goes to prove we can be rude in two languages, at least.) There are also workshops in music and dance, and a big party at the end of the day. Details here.
But wait! We’re not done yet. (Not even close.)
One of the highlights of Philly’s Irish year is the Philadelphia Irish Festival Sunday down on the Great Plaza at Penns Landing. It’s an all-day fest, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., with more dance schools and Irish bands than you can shake a shillelagh at. If you love the Bogside Rogues, Blackthorn and Jamison, you’d better be there, because they will be. There’s food, drink and vendors all over the place. Sunday is supposed to be sunny, with a high of 79, so it might be the nicest day in a while. It’s also usually about 110 degrees in the shade for this event, so we got lucky. Pasty-faced Irish people have been known to jig in front of the festival stage, and then spontaneously combust.
Follow details on their Facebook page.
Also, keep your eyes out for the folks from Einstein’s Irish Tay-Sachs Screening project. Tay-Sachs is an inherited disorder—rare, thank God—and over time it destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It most commonly occurs in infancy. If you are of Irish heritage, please find out if you’re a carrier. We’ve done it, and it’s painless. And free.
OK, take a deep breath, because most of the rest of the week is given over to a celebration of Joyce’s “Ulysses.” Here’s what’s on:
• Deciphering Ulysses: A Playful Introduction to Joyce’s Novel Exhibit, an exhibit at the Rosenbach Museum, starts Tuesday. It runs though September September 6.
• Take a Ulysses Virtual Twitter Tour on Wednesday. Follow #UlyssesinPhilly throughout the day on Twitter @RosenbachMuseum . Ulysses will be making cameo appearances throughout Philly. Wednesday from 9 to 5.
• One of our favorite pubs, Fergie’s on Sansom Street, hosts “Ulysses” Quizzo Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. Bring your thirst for knowledge and, well, your thirst.
• On Friday from 3 to 4, get a really good look at the Rosenbach’s famous James Joyce and Irish Authors collection. These items usually are not on public display, and you’ll have an opportunity to check them out, up close and personal. Advance registration is strongly recommended. Registration is limited. Register here.
• Also Friday, from 6 to 9 p.m., local Ulysses experts will lead you through a crash course on the novel. They promise fun facts and study snacks. It’s called the “Ulysses Crash Course Bash.”
All of the Rosenbach’s Ulysses events are here.
That’s all, folks!
(P.S.: Parts of our website are still on the disabled list. We’ve been working on it this week. Amazingly, 3-in-1 Oil didn’t help much. We’re pretty sure the injured parts will be back in the lineup early next week, possibly over this weekend. In the meantime, if you want to check out the calendar, there’s a nicely readable version of it here.
