June 11, 2018
Courtesy of The Rosenbach Museum & Library/PhillyVoice
Bloomsday takes place on June 16.
June 16 is Bloomsday, when James Joyce's 1922 masterpiece "Ulysses" is internationally celebrated.
In the novel, which was once banned in the United States for being obscene, the fictional character Leopold Bloom journeys through the streets of Dublin, Ireland.
In Philadelphia, the largest Bloomsday celebration takes place outside the Rosenbach Museum & Library at Delancey Place.
The manuscript for "Ulysses" has been at the Rosenbach since 1924.
At the Rosenbach's free Bloomsday celebration, there will be a daylong reading of the novel outside. This year's readers include former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and special guest Daniel Mulhall, Ambassador of Ireland to the United States.
Actors Michael Toner and Mal Whyte will also perform a humorous adaptation of "Ithaca" from "Ulysses" and singers will bring the novel's tavern songs and arias to life.
The Bloomsday beer garden, which popped up at the event last year, will be back this year for the 21-plus crowd to enjoy while listening to the dramatic readings. On tap will be brews inspired by "Ulysses" famous pub scenes. Food trucks will be parked at Delancey Place, too.
Bloomsday at the Rosenbach will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The fun can continue at McGillin's Olde Ale House, however, where there will be pints of O’Hara’s Stout from Ireland, Dublin Donkey cocktails and Irish breakfast all day, as part of the bar's own Bloomsday celebration.
Saturday, June 16
11 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Free to attend
The Rosenbach Museum
2008 Delancey Place, Philadelphia, PA 19103
