News

You’ll be buying a shirt like this at a new venue.

American Paddy’s Productions, producers of The Philadelphia Fleadh, announced on Friday, April 17, that the annual festival scheduled for May 2 will move from Pennypack Park in Northeast Philadelphia to The Cherokee Festival Grounds located at 1 Declaration Drive in Bensalem

The Cherokee Festival Grounds is a picturesque park with 15 acres nestled on the Neshaminy Creek surrounded by 30 beautiful acres of conserved land. The Cherokee Festival Grounds is home to The Cherokee Day Camp as well as some of Bucks County’s biggest festivals, including The Bucks County Food Truck Festival and The Giggles and Ghouls Fall Festival.

Promoter for American Paddy’s Productions, Frank Daly, said “The cost of keeping The Philly Fleadh in Philadelphia passed what we could afford with new regulations that were added this year concerning additional fencing, mandatory city workers, and added fees because alcohol is sold. In the 2 years we held the Philly Fleadh in Pennypack, we never had a single accident, arrest, or fight. We still aren’t sure why these additional fees and requirements were tacked on.”

CJ Mills, a Bensalem native, said “The Cherokee Festival Grounds was exactly what we were hoping for when thinking of an alternate location for The Philadelphia Fleadh. Moving to business friendly Bensalem allows us to attract not only our Philadelphia audience, but also makes it a closer ride for all of the people in Bucks County who might not have ventured into the city. The Cherokee family are people who see the value of a cultural festival and what they do year round is great for the community and families. We feel very grateful to be working with them.”

Bensalem Mayor Joe DiGirolomo is also very supportive of the event moving to his hometown, says Daly. DiGirolomo is no stranger to large events considering it was under his direction that The Bensalem Fall Festival and the Concert Series in the park at the TD Bank Amphitheater were started.

Other than the location, very little else will change for the May 2 event. The Philly Fleadh will still feature live music from The Mahones, Jamison Celtic Rock, The John Byrne Band, Seamus Kennedy, The Galway Guild, Birmingham Six, Broken Shilalaighs and more. There will also be a larger kids’ zone, 2 Ceilis, a traditional music session, an Irish dance feis, vendors with food, beer and apparel, and of course a great time for the Irish and those who want to pretend they are for the day.

Tickets for the Philadelphia Fleadh are $20 in advance, with group discounts over 10 people and kids 12 and under are free. To purchase tickets or get more information visit the Fleadh website.

Sculptor Patrick Dougherty’s newest installation, a cluster of stickwork cottages in a little meadow at Morris Arboretum, inspired awe among all those who came to its dedication last Saturday.

We captured the whole thing, soup to nuts in video, including an interview with a volunteer who helped Dougherty bring his little village to fruition.

• See the photos.

The perfect place for hide and seek

It looks like a village made for hobbits—a small cluster of cottages in a sunlit meadow at Morris Arboretum. If you didn’t know any better, you might expect a visit from Frodo Baggins at any minute.

In reality, these dwellings are entirely temporary. They’ll succumb to the ravages of time and weather, but for now they are the newest sculpture by Patrick Dougherty—his people came from Donegal—and it was crafted entire of bent and twisted willow, and other woodsy odds ends harvested by the sculptor and arboretum volunteers over the course of just a few short weeks. Rain and late March snow couldn’t stop the construction of the installation known as “A Waltz in the Woods.”

Over that time, more than a few arboretum visitors, puzzled, wander over to the building site to ask: what is it? What it is, is a technique called stickwork–and Dougherty, who has built similar, and not so similar, installations all around the world is known as the “Stickman.”

On the day the arboretum sculpture was dedicated, accompanied by songs by the Irish Center’s Vince Gallagher and Philadelphia Emerald Society pipers, adults marveled at the construction. As for the kids, they knew exactly what to do–play hide and seek. And no better place to do it.

• Also, see the video.

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After eight years selling cotton candy, this vendor has perfected his sense of balance.

The second time was the charm.

The Burlington County St. Patrick’s Day Parade–always the Delaware Valley’s first parade of the season–was postponed because of terrible weather.

Last Sunday, it was chilly but bright, and the usual crowd turned out for the march down High Street. Pipers, mummers, dancers, singers, drummers … there was something for everybody.

Here are some photos to remember it all by.

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Of course, there was no substitute for actually being at the Burlington County St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It’s always great. But we think we’ve come up with the next best thing: the parade highlights reel.

Sit back and watch. And maybe you’ll see yourself or your band!

Patricia Campbell, with the Passion for Peace award

Patricia Campbell has seen it all. And you probably don’t want to see what she has seen.

As a community mental health nurse in Belfast, Campbell has witnessed the trauma resulting from years of conflict in Northern Ireland. In spite of the Good Friday Agreement, the wounds of many have failed to heal—on both sides—but certainly among those who were dragged off to prison, tortured or both, all at British hands. Suicide is not uncommon.

Within the communities divided during the Troubles, Campbell says, those divisions remain. In many cases, they are more pronounced now than they were in the days of open conflict.

Severe health care budget cuts will make it harder to deal with the community’s ills.

Campbell has also visited Palestine, where she sees parallels between Northern Ireland’s minority Catholic population and the government of the UK.

Regardless of where she bore witness to injustice, Campbell has dedicated herself to justice and peace.

Last Sunday, Campbell visited Philadelphia to receive the Passion for Peace Award at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in the city’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood.

We took a few moments before presentation of the award for a conversation. Here’s what she had to say.