Ireland and Old Lace in Smithville will be hosting its free annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Saturday, March 6, from noon-3pm, and will include a CD signing with international recording artist Gaelic Storm. There will be live acoustic music, bagpipers and the Mist of Ireland step dancers will perform. Bring or purchase any Gaelic storm CD and have it signed by the band from noon-1pm.
For more information please call 404-4777 or go here.

Absecon Lighthouse is hosting An Evening of Romance and Renewal on Saturday, Feb. 13, and Sunday, Feb. 14, from 7-10pm. Couples choose which evening suits their romantic schedule, and then indulge!
Make-out with the one you love in the lighthouse tower — catered aphrodisiacs await you on each level as you climb. Dance to romantic tunes by renowned DJ Ron Champion. Treasure a professional 5- by 7-inch photograph keepsake by wedding specialist John DeMaio. Toast with champagne and soft spirits, and share chocolate covered strawberries by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.
For married couples, an on-site minister will perform a group wedding-vow-renewal at 8:30pm. Absecon Lighthouse is a proud member of the AC GLBT Alliance and invites all couples to this romantic evening.
Tickets for this memorable event are just $125 per couple. A room and ticket package is available with the Chelsea Hotel for just $250 per couple. You are invited to make a reservation by calling the lighthouse at 609-449-1360.
Absecon Lighthouse is located at 31 S. Rhode Island Ave. in Atlantic City, and is open to visitors Thursday through Monday from 11am-4pm.
For more information about Absecon Lighthouse and its programs call 609-449-1360 or go here. — Kelley Anne Essinger

Photo courtesy allamericanpatriots.com

The Atlantic City branch of the NAACP will present the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Day march and church program on Monday, Jan. 18. Numerous community leaders, organizations, youth groups and churches will join forces with the NAACP in the historical 11am march down MLK Boulevard, from the Dr. Martin Luther King School Complex to the Civil Rights Garden located on Pacific Avenue.

Following the ceremony at the Civil Rights Garden, the marchers will proceed to the St. James AME Church, located at the corners of New York and Arctic avenues. A moving service celebrating and honoring the life and legacy of Dr. King is planned. Atlantic City First Ward Councilman G. Bruce Ward will deliver the special address.

Organizations and individuals wishing to participate in the march must assemble at the Martin Luther King School Complex by 10am Monday. The church service starts at noon. NAACP membership applications will also be available.

For more information call 345-6039 or 344-4482.

Tonight — Dec. 31, 2009 — Garden State Fireworks and the City of Atlantic City will join forces to officially usher in 2010 with a spectacular fireworks display at Bader Field. The display will light up the Atlantic City skyline, and starts as soon as the clock strikes midnight. The venue will not be open to the public due to safety concerns.
Garden State Fireworks is based in Millington, Morris County, and has garnered the highest accolades in the fireworks business from all over the world, including Grand World Champion of the International Festival of Fireworks in France. Augustine Santore founded the company in 1890 soon after immigrating to the United States from Italy. His three sons, Nunzio, Charles and Ralph, continued to run the business until 1973, and his grandsons, August and Nunzio Jr., have run it ever since.

Partnering with the Arc Foundation of Atlantic County, the Hard Rock Café’s “Atlantic City Ambassadors” took the time to make an underprivileged family’s Christmas one to remember this year. Through its Ambassador Fund, the A.C. Hard Rock Café’s staff collected such items as PlayStation2 and GuitarHero video games, board games, clothes, stuffed animals, a reconditioned computer, CDs, and gift cards to Best Buy, Shoprite, and Wal-Mart stores for the family to use at their discretion. Hard Rock then invited the family into the restaurant, provided them with a four-course meal, and watched as they opened their staff-wrapped presents from under the Christmas tree.

DJ Vice (left) and DJ Samanta Ronson performed at Borgata nightclub mur.mur on Monday night, Dec. 28

World-famous DJs Samantha Ronson and Vice performed together for the first time to kick-start 2010 at mur.mur’s Industry New Year’s Eve party on Monday night, Dec. 28.

The Borgata’s resident DJs kept the packed house going until the early morning hours with a special set, including hits by Michael Jackson, Rihanna and Jay-Z, among others.

Beth Shak

This year the Chelsea hotel’s much-anticipated Double Down New Year’s Eve will include a celebrity of sorts.
Beth Shak, one of the hottest female poker players on the professional tour, will be a guest celebrity the Chelsea. She will be dining at Chelsea Prime steakhouse Thursday evening and be on hand for the countdown to midnight, Jan. 1.
Shak has only played professionally for four years, but has already earned substantial prize money at several major tournaments, including two World Poker Tour events and two World Series of Poker events. She has career winnings of more than $450,000 through her first four years. A mother and businesswoman, Shak is also a philanthropist who uses her fame and success as a way to promote concerns dear to her heart, and in giving back to the community. She is actively involved with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, particularly with its hospice care program for terminally ill children.
Shak also has a pretty good sense of humor, apparently. In her bio on the Web site pokerpages.com, her response to the query “If I could change anything in the poker world” was: “Please everyone, shower. It’s a long day at the tables.”

The Atlantic City Special Improvement District regrets to announce that the annual Downtown  Winter Wonderland Christmas holiday special event, scheduled to be held in Center City Park on Monday, Dec. 21 from 3‐6 pm, has been  cancelled due to the inclement and snowy weather throughout the city and the region. No makeup date will be scheduled.

Magic Hat's "Howl" winter lager

As it did during the fall, the Magic Hat Brewing Company of South Burlington, Vermont recently released a variety 12-pack for the winter season that includes four ales with a “sleigh-load of unique tastes” designed to chase the winter blues away.

“They’re selected to pair perfectly with celebratory edibles of the season, and to create meals of which memories are made,” says Magic Hat’s Dave Obenour. “When combined with the ideas offered by the brewer’s create-your-own beer dinner guide, this new box of holiday cheer lets revelers bring an entire beer dinner home for the holidays.”

Dubbed “The Feast of Fools Variety 12-Pak,” the selection includes three bottles each of four different ales, all selected for their ability to complement cherished culinary traditions of the holiday season, and to encourage everyone to stuff their stockings with festive

Gingerbread made from Magic Hat "Howl" lager

adventures in dining. The four new ales include Lucky Kat (an IPA pale ale), Howl (a black-as-night winter lager), Winter Odd Notion 09 (an American sour ale), and the brewery’s ever-popular Magic Hat #9 — a not-quite-pale “pageant of smooth malty sweetness.”

Go here to download or view the Magic Hat seasonal ales and recipes.

Sean “Diddy” Combs

Sean “Diddy” Combs hosted his official album release party at Borgata’s mur.mur nightclub on Monday night in support of his sixth album entitled Last Train to Paris — a compilation Combs describes as electro-hip-hop soul funk. Diddy brought along his Dirty Money band members Dawn Richard (formerly of Making the Band and Danity Kane) and Kalenna Harper to help celebrate the release of the new album. Diddy danced to a special set by DJs Chachi and D-Nice before heading back to his suite at Borgata. He continued the festivities with a little holiday cheer — joining Wired 96.5 FM’s “Chio in the Morning” team at Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center — to help with their annual Toy Drive on Tuesday morning.