Hilton Head Island Wine & Food Festival
This premier island event will feature wine and food tasting (of course), chef demonstrations, farmers market, pie baking contest, wine auctions, used cookbook sale, waiters race and bartenders challenge. This event will be from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn. $40 for general admission; $60 for premium tickets, which allows admission at 11 a.m. Tickets available at the door or by calling 1-800-424-3387.Hilton Head St. Paddy’s Day celebration
For more than two decades, Hilton Head Island has found that the best way to usher in spring is with a bedlam of Irish revelry. This year will be no exception. The 27th annual Hilton Head Island St. Patrick's Day Parade kicks off, rain or shine, at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Among the more than 100 entries expected to be in this year's ode to St. Patrick are a furry band of animal orphans from the Hilton Head Humane Association, a flotilla of Shriners, a troupe of Irish step dancers and a wee procession of miniature horses from Bits of Love, an equine therapy program. A color guard from Fort Stewart and the Parris Island Marine Band also will be part of the parade, which will step off from the Coligny Beach public parking lot onto Pope Avenue, make its way to Office Park Road and end at Park Plaza.
Savannah St. Paddy’s Day celebration
If you don't get there early, you're going to need the luck of the Irish to navigate the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Savannah. As the second largest shamrock celebration in the United States, more than 400,000 revelers are expected to fill the Hostess City's streets on March 17, beginning with a consistently maxed-out 8 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. The parade kicks off at 10:15 a.m.
In addition to nearly 50 bands, including pipe bands from Ireland, New York, Chicago and Boston, 320 parade units will be marching through Savannah's Historic District. Among the main attractions will be more than 1,000 Army rangers and other uniformed officers, who traditionally receive kisses from lipstick-wielding strangers.
For more information, visit www.savannahsaintpatricksday.com or www.riverstreetsavannah.com.
15th Annual “Running of the Green”
Mardi Gras has its unspoken code, but to earn beads on Hilton Head Island for St. Patrick's Day, prepare to sweat. The Hilton Head Island Shamrock 5K Run and Health Walk will start at 8 a.m. Saturday in front of New York City Pizza at Heritage Plaza. The flat course will take runners down Pope Avenue, North Forest Beach Drive and then Lagoon Road to the finish area at the corner of Lagoon Road and Pope Avenue.
Pre-registration is $35 on the morning of the race; the event benefits The Mental Health Association of Beaufort County. All participants receive a Shamrock Run T-shirt and green beads.
Details: Bear Foot Sports at 757-8520; www.bearfootsports.com
Cajun groove
Get ready for a Louisiana-flavored party with a concert by the nationally renowned group Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience. Simien brings his upbeat slice of Cajun groove to the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina Monday. Student tickets are available for this family-friendly concert. An eighth generation Creole, Simien has been performing the indigenous music of Louisiana for more than 25 years, winning countless awards and accolades, including Offbeat’s 2007 Best of the Beat Award and a 2008 Grammy for his latest album, “Live! Worldwide.”
Tickets for the show are $36 for adults and $26 for children and can be purchased by visiting www.artshhi.com or calling 843-842-ARTS.
Other cool stuff
Mardi Gras in March: Come on down to "Bourbon Street" to celebrate Mardi Gras in March at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Dataw Island Club, Beaufort. This fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs will include New Orleans jazz, food, drinks, silent auction items and a live auction. Tickets are $85 per person (cash bar). Reservations: 986-5437.
Community Health and Wellness Fair: This free event will be from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lowcountry, 110 Malphrus Road, Bluffton. It will feature free screenings, lectures, demonstrations, information and much more.
Quench Team Kick-off: Two local families, the Harstas and the Stephens, are moving to Belize this July to found Water Missions Belize. Dubbed the “Quench” team, they will operate under the auspices of Water Missions International. There will be free, community-wide kick-off party from 6-8 p.m. Friday at LowCountry Community Church, Bluffton. The event will feature entertainment, a barbeque dinner and more.
Golf fundraiser: This is the Zonta Club of Hilton Head Island’s 11th Annual Golf Fundraiser. There will be a noon shotgun tee off, Saturday at Golden Bear at Indigo Run. Cost per player is $100 and includes golf, boxed lunch, beverages and 19th hole party. Contact Tammy Woodard at 785-8535 or
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Help — I’m Hungry: This forum will focus on hunger and homelessness in the Lowcountry. Admission is a non-perishable food item. The event is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 10 at Congregation Beth Yam, 4501 Meeting St., Hilton Head Island. Call 689-2178 for more information.
