~~ 240 W. Nine Mile, ferndale, mi 48220 ~~ (248) 399-3946
Monday-Thursday 8AM-11PM, Friday & Saturday 8AM-3AM, Sunday 9AM-11PM
Coffees, Lattes, Rollups, Soups, Salads, Bagels, Vegan options.
Acoustic & Indie Music, Poetry, Comedy, Theatre, Art. Free WiFi.

We're writing a book about our Danny Boy Marathon!

If you have any comments, recollections, images, video, etc. from this record setting event, please email ajamesoneil [at] gmail [dot] com.

The rest of this page is provided for historical reference only.

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

When A.J.O'Neil sang "Danny Boy" for the first time at AJ's Cafe' in Ferndale Michigan, back in April of 2007, he did so to fill up some down time in an otherwise slow period of "open mic" performances in his newly fledgling music cafe. So well was it recieved that he did it again, and again, and again... until the regular crowd began to get sick of it.

Since Saint Patrick's Day had come and gone before he opened the cafe, he understood. But with a wink, he threatened his crowd; "Come next St.Patty's Day, We're gonna have a marathon, and we'll all get up to have our turn at this Irish standard. We'll sing it one-thousand times, for 50 hours straight! Then we can put this song to bed".

Well, what started out as a half-joke is nearing a reality. On March 15th at 3pm, AJ's will kick off "The Worlds longest Danny Boy Marathon". Dignitaries, Irish dancers and folks from all over will start the festivities at 2pm on Mar 15th in front of AJ's Cafe, located at 240 West 9 mile road, in Ferndale, Michigan (48220, (248) 399-3946). From the "Trailer park-green" carpeting outside, we will make our way into the cafe and onto the performance stage where we will continue "Danny Boy ", one performance at a time for the next 50 hours. If one thousand performers each do a 3 minute rendition, the marathon will end at 5pm Monday, March 17th, Saint Patrick's Day.

We need performers still. We would love to have celebrities with Detroit roots, (Eminem, Kid Rock, Arethea Frankilin, Bob Seger......) contact us to claim a spot! We have 700 names and numbers on hand, but those who did sign up need to call or stop in and fill in there names on our "master time- slot sheet".

We were tickled when Steve Neavling of the Detroit Free Press showed enough interest in our efforts to do a story on it this past December. We were even more happy that Our local Paper "The Woodward Talk" did a peice for a front page story a couple of weeks ago. Fox2 WJBK featured us this past Monday and since then, we have been picked up (Thank's in part to Foley's Pub in Manhattan, which banned the song in his place!) by the media all over the world. We have been on Irish Radio, Throughout the United States and Canada, and picked up in Germany, Russia, South Africa, Tasmania, Hong Cong, just to name a few locations!.

The World will be watching. Won't you help us get the word out on what a great place Ferndale, Michigan and the rest of Metro Detroit is! Please feel free to contact us for any additional requests. The pipes, the pipes are calling!

Warmest regards.
AJ O'Neil
AJ's Cafe
240 W. 9 Mile Rd.
Ferndale, Mi , 48220 (248) 399-3946
ajs.cafe at yahoo.com

Charities

We will have an Irish kettle for donations for Gleaners Food Bank, Ferndale Youth Assistance, Detroit Together Men's Chorus and the St. Patrick's Senior Center (Detroit).

Previous Press Release

Notate Bene: You only have to sing for three to five minutes in your genre.

On March 15, 2008, AJ's Cafe seeks to make or break a world record. We've submitted our idea to the Guiness Book of World Records and have been given preliminary approval to proceed. With the help of community officials, neighbors and businesses from Ferndale and surrounding areas, we will attempt to put our city on the map.

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, we would like to set a record for the Longest Running "Danny Boy" Marathon.

Musicians from all genres, from solo artists to marching bands, from jazz to traditional folk... Anyone may sign up for the marathon.

We are located at 240 W. Nine Mile in Downtown Ferndale. You can call (248) 399-3946 to sign up.

All participants will be given musical scores and lyrics written by classic composer Fred Weatherly. If we could enlist at least one thousand (1000) people to participate at 5 minutes each, then we would total fifty non-stop hours of diverse renditions of the beautiful Irish folk song "Danny Boy" and could sire a unique world record.

Starts at 3:00PM Thursday, March 15. Ends around 5:00PM March 17. We could bring world recognition to our community and have a great time doing so.

Advertisers

Organizations and businesses will be allowed to put up banners for a small fee.

Great Wall Custom Coverings, another fabulous Ferndale business, can print banners and posters for the Danny Boy Marathon, Bar Mitzvahs, parties, special events, and more (as well as wall murals for custom home decor) if you do not already have a banner or poster to display. You can reach them at GreatWallOnline or 877.544.1054.

We're writing a book about our Danny Boy Marathon!

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Charities

Previous Press Release

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