By: Denise Foley

I’m not going to be in Philly this week, but if I were, this is what I’d do:

I might kick off my weekend over at the Irish Center, watching a little Gaelic Athletic Association football live on big screen TV while eating a full Irish breakfast (hoping that there will be paramedics on hand if one of my major arteries seizes up). There are games scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday mornings.

On Saturday night, August 16, I might get dolled up in my finest (wait, I don’t really have any finest. No matter. . .) and go to the dinner-dance the Irish Center is throwing to celebrate its 50th anniversary. For $50 you get drinks, dinner, music and dancing to the Vince Gallagher Band.

If I didn’t go to a session (there’s one almost every night of the week), I would certainly head over to the Texas Roadhouse in Montgomeryville on Thursday, August 21, where Team Ratty Shoes (it's a Blackthorn song reference, and the name of Blackthorn fan Patti Byrd’s growing crew of walkers who raise money for the Delaware Valley Multiple Sclerosis Society) will be selling raffle tickets (prize: a $100 gas card; how “now” is that?) and reaping the benefits of our pig-outs (this is one of those restaurants where you pick out your own steak and they cook it to order). Texas Roadhouse has guaranteed Team Ratty Shoes at least 10% of the night’s take on food and drink. Kudos to you, Tex!

Later on that night, I’d be over in Doylestown at Puck, a great little venue in Printer’s Alley off of East Court Street, where Beltaine’s Fire is playing. I just heard this band from Oakland (they describe themselves as “Celtic Hip-Hop revolutionaries) and I love their improbable fusion (wait till you hear rap backed by some Irish mandolin-picking). You can listen to them here. Their Puck performance will be recorded so you could be in the presence of the birth of a hit CD. They’re also appearing on August 30 at the Barrington Coffee House and Cafe in Barrington, NJ.

Starting on Friday, August 22, the discount chain Five Below will be handing over a percentage of its profits from weekend sales to Team Ratty Shoes. You have to buy stuff for back-to-school anyway, so why not do it there (plus, everything is $5 and under)? We have a list of addresses for all the stores in the tri-state area on our amazing calendar. You need a coupon and you can get it here.

Also tempting: Berks County sixth annual Celtic Oyster Festival. I normally don’t like to eat oysters this far from the sea (it’s in Mohnton, PA, about 8 miles south of Reading) but they have all trimmings of an Irish festival—vendors, clans and cultural displays, music, probably guys in kilts. There’s also an Oyster Eating Contest which would make for some great photos. That happens on Saturday, August 23.

There’s plenty more coming up, including aTeam Ratty Shoes benefit at Maggie O’Neill’s on August 24 with that kick-ass Celtic band, Random Blonde, with the inimitable Seamus McGroary; the benefit to raise money for Irish radio (on Sunday August 24—and I will be there); and just a little down the line, the Philadelphia Ceili Group’s annual Traditional Music and Dance Festival starting on September 11 with the Irish Circle of Song (I try to never miss it) and a concert Friday night with one of my favorite Irish fiddlers, Tony DeMarco (trust me, he’s Irish).

There are all sorts of important details I left out—like addresses and times and maps--because they’re on our calendar. Go see them for yourself.

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