Bloomsday - an Irish Celebration - June 16

June 4, 2010 · No Comments

At the Irish Museum and Cultural Center in Kansas City's Union Station (lower level, west wing)

Park in the Parking Garage on the west side of Union Station - may need to go to second level.

5:30 pm music by Dublin-native Eddie Delahunt

7 pm play Bloomsday Dublin

Free - but donations appreciated

Join us for Bloomsday, a celebration of James Joyce’s Ulysses, one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. The book is set in Dublin on June 16, 1904, and follows the thoughts and actions of Leopold Bloom. Now June 16 is honored as Bloomsday with tributes to Irish arts and literature worldwide.

The play is an adaptation of Ulysses by Professor Lary Opitz of Skidmore College, depicting key sequences in Bloom’s travels through the streets, pubs and bordellos of Dublin. Directed by Sylvia Stoner, it features a cast of some of Kansas City’s finest actors. Stoner is a singer and actor who has performed across the country in opera and theater.

The event concludes with Molly Bloom’s soliloquy, the famously earthy and erotic musings of Bloom’s wife, which provide the final affirmation of: “And yes, I said, yes, I will, yes!"

This will be a wonderful evening bringing the quintessential Irish story to life. You don’t want to miss it! But note: this is NOT for the kids.

Boulevard provides refreshments; all attending provide the atmosphere. The more the better!

Kansas City’s Bloomsday celebration is sponsored by the William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Trust and Boulevard Brewery. The Irish Center is located in the lower level of Union Station; there is convenient parking in the garage immediately west of Union Station.

Tom and Nancy Shawver of Bloomsday Books have hosted Kansas City’s annual celebration for the last 14 years, each year featuring Eddie Delahunt and Sylvia Stoner. This is the first year in which the celebration finds its home at the Irish Center, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Irish heritage and cultural education, preservation and celebration.

For more information, contact Tom Shawver at 816-523-6712, info@BloomsdayBooks.com or the Irish Center at 816-474-3848, info@irishmuseum.org.

The Irish Center in Union Station is open year-round, free for browsing, genealogy research, and more Wed - Sat 10 - 4 pm, Sun noon - 4 pm.