St. Patrick's Day is a time for festivities. And despite being a holiday that celebrates Saint Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland, the Irish and non-Irish alike participate (especially in the beer drinkin'). Around the Q.C., lots of St. Patty's Day events are in store. Check out this guide for up-to-date information.

Wed., March 11

• ST. PATRICK’S DAY GLASS NIGHT. The Flying Saucer will feature its annual St. Patrick’s Day commemorative glass. There is a small charge for the glass, in addition to the cost of beer. Glasses available starting at 7 p.m. The Flying Saucer, 9605 N. Tryon St., Ste. A. 704-717-8179.

• GREEN WEEK AT BLACKFINN. Live Irish music and food and drink specials, including $1.50 Burgers, $2 ML’s and $8 ML Pitchers. Wed., March 11. BlackFinn American Saloon, 210 E. Trade St. 704-971-4440. www.blackfinncharlotte.com.

Thurs., March 12

• CELTIC CROSSROADS. Hailing from Ireland, the septet group known as Celtic Crossroads dishes out traditional Irish music set with musical sides of Celtic folk rock, bluegrass and gypsy-inspired song crafts. In its intimate live shows, instruments like the harp, guitar, flute, whistle, violin, banjo, accordion, bass and drums are combined for a number of Irish dance tunes, while Irish step dancers also take to the stage, from time to time, for some serious foot work. Celtic Crossroads will perform at Davidson College's Duke Family Performance Hall on Thurs., March 12. $8-$20. 8 p.m. Duke Family Performance Hall at Davidson College, 207 Faculty Dr. (Davidson). 704-894-2192. www3.davidson.edu/cms/x31892.xml.

• GREEN WEEK AT BLACKFINN. Go Green at BlackFinn and enter to win an eco-friendly car. Thurs., March 12. BlackFinn American Saloon, 210 E. Trade St. 704-971-4440. www.blackfinncharlotte.com.

Blue used to be the favorite Day Party spot, but it looked pretty easy to get in this year.

Across the street, however, the line for Mert's Heart and Soul was packed.

The Lady Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith beat the defending CIAA women's champions today.

The two squads met in the finals last year, but this time, the outcome was different.

One thing was obvious about this game, Shaw wasn't the same team they were last year. The hard playing, girls are gone as the Golden Bulls had their way with the defending champions. With 9:47 left in first half JCSU was up 18 to 7.

Shaw’s cheerleaders, like their offense, showed up late in the first half. With 6:25 to go, the score was 23 to 11. Shaw cut the lead to five with 4:20 to go in the first half, showing signs of the team that beat the Golden Bulls in the finals last year. As a part of the CIAA urge to keep fans in their seats during halftime, there were performances by unknown singers and rappers. But the highlight of halftime was the “Let’s Make a Deal” game where fans won tee shirts, Amtrak tickets and a Food Lion gift card.

In the postgame interview, Shaw head coach Jacques Curtis said, he didn't want to take anything away from JC Smith, but "we never practiced playing eight on five."

"There were a lot of calls that went their way," he said.

While Shaw goes home, the Golden Bulls will move on to the semi-finals on Friday.

Famed poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator Nikki Giovanni spoke at Alive, in NoDa, last Friday. By the time she took the stage, the seats were full and the crowd was primed. Bluz Rogers, SlamCharlotte's Slam Master, was the MC. KB Entertainment performed a moving tribute. And, Jocelyn Ellis, winner of the 2008 Charlotte Music Award for Best R&B, wowed the crowd — despite technical difficulties.

Giovanni, a Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech, signed copies of her latest poetry book, Bicycles: Love Poems. In addition to reading from the book, the Civil Rights activist also offered the crowd her perspective on several of today's hot topics.

About the brouhaha over Illinois' Sen. Roland W. Burris, she said, "In all of Illinois there has to be one good black man. I know one, Jesse Jackson Jr."

Regarding Obama's campaign slogan, "Change we can believe in," she said, "Barack is not the change, he's the change that brings the change."

She also said she believed Martin Luthur King Jr.'s dream wasn't fulfilled when Obama took office in January. Giovanni believes King's dream was a just world, saying the United States must stop bombing other countries and take care of itself. She specifically called for the Ninth Ward in New Orleans to be rebuilt.

Saying she started writing love poems to heal after personal tragedy, she acknowledged that love is a broad concept. Toward the end of her presentation she read a poem about her love of the NBC game show "Deal or No Deal." If you make it on the show, she advised, "Don't take people you know."

The event, co-sponsored by RealEyes Bookstores and the Charlotte Literary Festival, is part of the "Change is Coming to Charlotte" series. Proceeds benefited the festival and group's the "Kick off to Writing" scholarship.

Click here to see photos from the event.

Check out Pet PALS Holiday Bash, Wednesday, Dec. 17 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Suite @ Epicentre (210 E. Trade St.) in Uptown. $15 admission will include one beverage (wine, beer or well drink) with proceeds fully supporting the Humane Society of Charlotte. No RSVP required.

Pet PALS (Professional Animal Lovers Society) is a professional social networking group that meets to support the Humane Society of Charlotte.

It's an interesting twist on the average bar crawl. Salon Tribeca, Skin Elements and Urbana CitySpa & TeaBar bring you Charlotte's first holiday beauty crawl tomorrow night from 6-9 p.m. at The Shops at Carmel Village (7510 Pineville Matthews Road).

Complimentary wine, champagne and hors d'oeuvres, giveaways and drawings. Quick party updos, makeup consultations and skin analysis. Mini-massages and relaxing teas.

What more could you ask for?

Register by calling 704-543-1700.

Single Cell Productions, the gang behind all those Purgatory parties, now brings the city of Charlotte a new CyberTechno dance event guaranteed to keep the winter chill at bay a while longer. HAZMAT will be held from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. tonight, Nov. 28, at The Garden & Gun Club, located in the NC Music Factory at 820 Hamilton St. Billing itself as featuring "the most dangerous dance music in Charlotte," the event will showcase top area DJs including DJ Spider, DJ Patrick, and Koji.

Admission is $10. For more info, call 704-246-1752, or go to www.thegandgclub.com.

Get your head shot by Creative Loafing photographer Jasiatic . For more, visit www.createtressphotography.blogspot.com

I love coffee. Unless it's very acidic. But I had no idea that people set up shop in Starbucks stores around Charlotte as if they were renting office space for the cost of a latte.

This morning I met with an interview subject at Starbucks and here are some of the things I overheard while waiting:

Blonde#1: "So, her husband went to jail in July and 25 days later she already had a boy toy. Then she asked me to be in the wedding and I told her that I didn't believe in this marriage and I was in your first wedding. I'll just be a guest."

Blonde#2: "Sometimes, you and your friends just grow apart."

Blonde#1: "My husband said he has lost all respect for her. And I asked him, when did you have any."

It's amazing to me that people leave their laptops sitting on tables and dash around the store as if we're not in a recession. But what took the cake was the lady who walked outside to talk on her cell phone leaving her laptop and purse inside. Does she not realize that some people are so wrapped up in their latte and frappe that they don't watch who comes and goes?