ST. PATRICK’S DAY WEEKEND

Cypress Woods independent retirement community, located at 2755 Chestnut Ridge Road in Kingwood, invites the public to its free St. Patrick’s Day weekend events March 16-18. Events will include Irish dancing with hors d’oeuvres on March 16 at 3 p.m., Pot-of-Gold Bingo with refreshments on March 17 at 11 a.m., and a Green Eggs and Ham Brunch on March 18 at 10:30 a.m. To R.S.V.P., call Cypress Woods at 281-441-8800.

ART DEMO

Those who attend the Kingwood Art Society meeting on March 19 at Christ the King Lutheran Church will learn the tricks of creating artist trading cards, miniature-sized works of art. Social time begins at 6:30 p.m. with the meeting following at 7. The church is at 3803 Lake Houston Parkway in Kingwood. Doing the hands-on demo will be Rikki Mitman, a mixed-media artist and teacher. Her repertoire includes collage, simple printmaking techniques, hand papermaking, altered books and a broad range of jewelry-making techniques.

LADIES CLUB

The Lake Houston Ladies Club will have its March luncheon and meeting on March 20 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Walden Country Club, 18100 Walden Forest Drive, Atascocita. This month’s entertainment will be an Elvis impersonator. New members are always welcome. Call Carol at 832-671-4475 for reservations by March 16 at 5 p.m. Call Hestor at 281-852-1442 for more information about the club.

PUBLIC BUDGET MEETING

The city of Houston will conduct combined public meetings on the city’s 2012 annual Operating Budget Capital Improvement Plan and 2012 annual Consolidated Plan. These meetings provide citizens the opportunity to participate in the budget process by contributing comments and suggestions about needed services and improvements. The Kingwood meeting for District E served by Mike Sullivan will be March 22 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Creekwood Middle School in the auditorium, 3603 West Lake Houston Parkway. For more information and specific details about the capital improvement projects in Kingwood, visit http://www.houstontx.gov/cip/index.html.

GENEALOGY CONFERENCE

The Houston Family Search Genealogy Conference 2012 will take place March 24 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located at 4021 Deerbrook Drive in Kingwood. The keynote speaker will be Michael J. Hall, deputy chief genealogical officer of Family Search. The free event will include three workshops chosen from the schedule on the registration/information site: www.houstonfamilysearch.com.

BLOOD DRIVE

Kingwood Rotary Club will have a Spring Break Blood Drive at Walgreens on Northpark Drive on March 25 from 12:30-5 p.m. To schedule an appointment, visit www.giveblood.org, log in to Digital Donor and enter sponsor code R684, or contact Carolyn Wise at 713-898-6611. Walk-ins are welcome.

SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY

The Kingwood Chapter of National Charity League will be awarding one or more scholarships of $500 or more to female students of this year’s Kingwood High School and/or Kingwood Park High School graduating class. The scholarships will honor the memory of Ginny Castagna, past president of the chapter. Requirements include the following: neither the applicant nor her mother is a member of NCL; planned attendance at a university, college or trade/vocational school by the fall semester following graduation; a GPA of 2.0 or higher; established financial need; and submission of the completed application by March 26. To apply, request a brochure and application from the college room at either school. To make a donation to the scholarship fund, call Kim Broussard at 281-358-8175.

HI NEIGHBOR KINGWOOD

The Hi Neighbor Kingwood Club is holding a New Member Coffee March 27 at the Kingwood Country Club from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Ladies of all ages, new or old residents in the Kingwood and surrounding area, are invited to attend. There is no charge. Hi Neighbor is an activity club that offers a lot of interesting activities and special interest groups. The club has a luncheon each month, September to May. R.S.V.P. to the coffee to Diane at 281-360-4725.

BUSINESS EXPO

The Lake Houston Business Expo, hosted by the Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce, will be held March 27 from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Humble Civic Center, 8233 Will Clayton Parkway. The event will include a business expo, trade symposium, MBE certification training class at 1 p.m., a WBE certification training class at 4 p.m. and after-hours networking from 5-7 p.m. There is no cost. For more information, visit www.lakehoustonbusinessexpo.com or contact Trish Helmerich at 281-446-2128 or thelmerich@lakehouston.org.

SON RUN AND WELLNESS FAIR

Strawbridge United Methodist Church will hold its fourth annual Son Run and Wellness Fair March 31. The race will begin at 9 a.m. Regular registration for the three-mile run/walk is $12 and ends March 19; late registration will be held the morning of the event at 8:30. Registration includes a T-shirt and water bottle. Other events will include a free wellness fair, a kids obstacle course, senior exercise classes, Zumba and yoga, rock climbing, health screenings, chair massages, nutrition information, healthy snacks, door prizes and more. The church is located at 5629 Kingwood Drive in Kingwood. Call 281-360-4500 or visit www.strawbridge-umc.org to register for the run or for more information.

KINGWOOD GARDEN CLUB SCHOLARSHIPS

Kingwood Garden Club offers scholarships to students who intend to spend their professional lives pursuing the same mission as KGC – researching, protecting and fostering horticultural plants, trees and wildlife. Applicants must have attended Kingwood, Kingwood Park or New Caney High schools; be a junior, senior in college or a graduate student; and be majoring in a horticulture- or environmental sciences-related field. The application for 2012 is available at www.kingwoodgardenclub.org. Applications are due by April 1.

KINGWOOD GARDEN CLUB

The Kingwood Garden Club will meet April 3 at 9 a.m. The program will be “Edible Flowers in the Kitchen” with speaker Lucia Bettle. She is past president of the International Herb Association, Herb Society of America and Houston Culinary Guild. The meeting will be at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 2929 Woodland Hills Drive in Kingwood. The meeting is open to members and guests. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, visit www.kingwoodgardenclub.org.

KINGWOOD SEWING GUILD

The Kingwood Sewing Guild will meet April 5 at 10 a.m. at Humble Sewing Center in Humble. The guild meets the first Thursday of the month. Visitors are always welcome. For more information, call Charlotte at 281-703-6723 or visit www.asghouston.org.

KINGWOOD AREA QUILT GUILD

The Kingwood Area Quilt Guild invites all visitors to its meeting April 5 to meet Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts for her lecture on “Reason for Quilting” and a trunk show of more than 50 quilts. For this meeting only, the location will be at Kingwood Church of Christ, 2901 Woodland Hills Drive. The guild meets at 7 p.m. for a social time and refreshments, followed at 7:30 with a brief business meeting, a lecture by a national speaker, show and tell, lottery block drawings, door prizes and special activities. For more information, visit www.KingwoodAreaQuiltGuid.com.

ADD/ADHD SUPPORT GROUP

The Attention Deficit Disorder Association – Southern Region Kingwood/Humble/Atascocita Chapter is a nonprofit organization that meets monthly, 7-9 p.m., at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 2929 Woodland Hills Drive, Kingwood, in Room 211. The next meeting will take place April 12. The group will view Chris Zeigler Dendy and Alex Zeigler’s new DVD: “Real Life ADHD: A Survival Guide for Children and Teens,” as well as review new attention books for summer reading. The community is invited to attend. For more information, contact Susan MacHugh at 281-812-3182 or email MrsQ123@aol.com.

B.O.P.A. COLLECTION

Council Member Mike Sullivan will be hosting a B.O.P.A. (batteries, oil, paint and anti-freeze) Neighborhood Collection Event in Kingwood April 28. The event will take place at the Kingwood Metro Park and Ride, 3210 W. Lake Houston Parkway. Collection will be from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Contact the council member’s office at 832-393-3008 for more information.