Take a little road trip this weekend, and you’re bound to find yourself up to your hackle in things Celtic and Irish.
We’re talking, of course, about the Celtic Classic, a three-day festival in beautiful Bethlehem.
The Classic is already under way today (September 27), but here’s what’s on tap for the next two days.
If you’re into Highland games—hammer throws, caber tosses and such—you’ll find them on the Highland Field. You’ll also get a chance to check out bagpipe bands, and border collies corralling sheep. That’s both days, from 10 a.m. ‘til about 6 p.m.
Saturday also features the tartan parade. That starts at 11:30 a.m. at Bethlehem’s City Hall (West Church Street between Nitschmann Street and Long Street) and wends its way through town, ending up at the Highland Field (Daniel Rice Field) near Spring Street and Conestoga. (Parade route here.)
There’s plenty of music to be heard, too, including Timlin & Kane, Jamison and the always funny Seamus Kennedy. (Saturday schedule here and Sunday schedule here.)
Along the way, you’ll find many, many vendors, including a chance to sample whiskey (great!) and try to digest haggis (decide for yourself).
All that is really just scratching the surface. Seriously, it’s a total immersion experience.
Also this week:
Saturday, September 28
At the Museum of the American Revolution, 101 S. Third Street in Philadelphia, check out a new exhibit, “Cost of Revolution: The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier.” The exhibit runs through St. Patrick’s Day, 2020, so you have plenty of time to between now and then to choose a day to take it in. The exhibit shares the heretofore untold story of Richard St. George, an Irish soldier and artist whose personal trauma and death provide a glimpse into the dual histories of the American Revolution and the Irish Revolution of 1798. The museum opens at 10 a.m.
That’s it for now.
Check out our calendar for other regular events, including traditional Irish music sessions. We get asked about them a lot. They’re all over the Delaware Valley, and we can help you find them. (That said, call first … they’re not always held at exactly the same time, depending on, for instance, whether there’s an overlapping Eagles game.)
See you next time.
