Every year, the world celebrates James Joyce’s epic Ulysses on June 16th to commemorate Leopold Bloom’s fictional journey through the streets of Dublin. Over the past 25+ years, The Rosenbach’s Bloomsday Festival has grown into a lively, day-long celebration that draws literature lovers from around the country at the beginning of each summer. In 2018 and 2019, we were fortunate that June 16th fell on the weekend – and attendance soared! Last year we welcomed more than 1,500 Joyce enthusiasts, new readers, curious neighbors – and more than a few fuzzy friends (see #DogsOfBloomsday).
For our 2020 Bloomsday Festival, we’ve made the decision to hold our celebration on Saturday, June 13 to make the event accessible to all. Nothing is changing about the festival except for the date! More than 70 readers will take us passage by passage through the rollicking tale, the beer garden will fill and flow, seersucker suits will be on full display, and visitors will catch a glimpse of Joyce’s manuscript with free admission to The Rosenbach. Visitors of all ages are welcome to drop by at any point during the day to be a part of the celebration. Learn more and get tickets for the 2020 Bloomsday Festival.
For true Bloomsday purists and those who may miss out on the weekend’s fun, there will be an encore video presentation of this year’s readings along with festive food and fare on Tuesday, June 16, 2020 right here at The Rosenbach. Learn more.
We look forward to seeing you again this year on Saturday, June 13, 2020. Register today!
You can relive the fun of last year with the live-streamed recordings and photos below.
Photos by Ryan Brandenberg Photography
Friday, Saturday, whatever. I’m retired. Everyday is like Saturday to me.