Mar. 17: St. Patrick's Day Is for Kids Too

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone. Early as it may be, check back shortly for a breakdown of the best bars to go to for Paddy's Day celebrations in Santa Monica.

Alas, we won't be heading to any of them, as we're still weary from an incredibly busy day on Wednesday. Here's the lowdown on the eight articles published on Santa Monica Patch:

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Expect to see more LA Marathon coverage in the coming days. Also, we previously reported that there's a 30 percent chance of rain on Sunday; that figure has now bumped up to 70 percent. It might get messy out there.

One more note before we dive into today: Sadly, on Tuesday night, Santa Monica Patch Whiz Kid didn't advance to the California State Competition at the 's LA County Competition and Celebration. However, she did win a $1,000 scholarship, a laptop from Microsoft, four tickets to Disneyland and other gifts. Not too shabby. Quach will continue her year of service in SM and speak in the near future at the Lions Club, Kiwanis International and Rotary Club. Once again, our hat is off to you, Brittany.

Alrighty, now on to today:

Weather Forecast

• partly cloudy
• high temperature: 64 degrees
• low temperature: 47 degrees
• chance of precipitation: 10 percent
• humidity: 62 percent
• sunrise: 7:02 a.m.
• sunset: 7:03 p.m.

The Main Event

• St. Patrick's Day isn't all about drinking. If you have children, take them to the Creative Kids' Club, where attendees will be wearing green and eating holiday-themed food courtesy of the Santa Monica farmers market. The fun happens from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. in the Children's Activity Room at the . 

The Runner-Up

• The School Board will cheer the Jazz Combo for its recent coup at the when it convenes at 7 p.m. Go here for the full agenda for the meeting, which will be held at the .

Other Happenings

• If you can't wait to shop till Saturday's , swing by , which will be staging its Give & Get charity sale over the next four days. Many items are discounted, and a portion of the proceeds from sales will go to Habitat for Humanity, Teach for America, Feeding America and other organizations.
• An installment of the Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management's Dean's Executive Leadership Series will be held at at 5:30 p.m. National Venture Capital Association Chair Kate Mitchell will give a lecture dubbed "Venture Capital Viewpoints: What and How."
• Following Wednesday's Mediterranean-food feast, the has another special feature today: a champagne showcase. From 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Expo's wine bar, champagnes will be presented by Michael Reiterer of Alto Adige's Cantina Arunda, which only produces 70,000 bottles of classic sparkling wine each year.

Last but Not Least

• The 's "" series continues from 7 to 8:30 p.m. with a session focusing on memoirs.

(Go here for more events happening today.)

This Day in Santa Monica History

• On Mar. 17, 1924, four Douglas World Cruisers took off for a round-the-world flight from . The planes were wheeled to the park from Wilshire Blvd., and along the way, some trees had to be trimmed to accommodate them. The men returned on Sept. 23, becoming the first-ever human beings to circle the globe in the air. (Sources: Images of America: Early Santa Monica, Santa Monica: A History on the Edge.)

Did you take a great pic of SM in the early morning? Want to see it in The SM AM Report? Drop a note to Kurt.Orzeck@patch.com.

City News Service contributed to this report.