Another big week for the Irish, with a great mix of events.
If I weren’t still laid up with a broken ankle, I might spend some of my weekend over at the Waterford Wedgwood Company Store in Limerick, where they’re having a pre-holiday warehouse sale. Since it’s a company-owned retail store, there’s already a 30% markdown, and store manager Andrea Vandervoort tells us some pieces are reduced an additional 50%. I’d go, but I’m in a wheelchair and the financial risk of “you break it you bought it” is too great. But you able-bodied people ought to take advantage. Christmas is coming, and if your investment account looks like you’re back down to the Holy Communion money, you can’t afford to turn down this kind of bargain.
This is also the weekend of some important good-deed doing. On Saturday morning, you can head over to Valley Green, part of Fairmount Park in Chestnut Hill, for the sixth annual Fighting Irish 5K and 1 Mile Walk. There’s a raffle prize of a free round-trip to Ireland (which can cost up to $1000 or more these days) and proceeds benefit St. Malachy’s School in North Philadelphia. Also on Saturday morning, you can help earn a place in heaven by helping the region’s Ancient Order of Hibernians assembled meals for shut-ins at Aid For Friends in Northeast Philadelphia. The AOHers collect the food and prepare it as part of the Hibernian Hunger Project, a local charity that has gone nationwide.
On Monday, all you McDuffers should be out at the Paxon Hollow Golf Club in Broomall for the Masters of the Green Golf Tournament. Proceeds from this charity even benefit the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade. (Hey, all that green stuff costs green stuff.)
On Tuesday, British-but-Irish guitarist Ged Foley (Patrick Street) will be performing at The Blue Ball Barn in Alapocas Run State Park in Wilmington.
On Thursday, you can meet Irish crime novelist Declan Burke at Fergie’s Pub in Center City where he’s debuting his latest novel, “The Big O,” to the American public. We’re reading it now, and if you love Elmore Leonard, you’ll enjoy this Irish version of the marriage of humor and murder. Appearing with Burke is Canadian crime writer John McFetridge, author of “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” and “Dirty Sweet.”
On Friday, the Cavan Society holds its 101st Ball at the Springfield Country Club. Music will be provided by the Vince Gallagher Band.
All this week, you can also catch Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” at Villanova.
And a little bit of website business: You know you can add your own event to our calendar, right? Just click on the calendar on the home page, then click on the hotlink that says “Notify us about your Irish event” and it will take you to a page with a form you can fill out and some detailed instructions. And if you haven’t figured it out yet, we use the calendar to write “How to Be Irish in Philly This Week,” which covers the week from Saturday to Friday. Why? Because we usually write it early Friday morning (we do have day jobs). So if you have an event that’s going to occur on, say, Friday, you need to get it on the calendar or to us by the previous Friday at the latest. Thursday is even better. How To Be Irish In Philly is our best-read article every week, so it gets your event before more eyes.
It’s so popular, in fact, that the world’s best event calendar is a little jealous. So head on over there to make it feel better.
