Garden party, St. Patrick’s Day events on tap at New Merkel

The New Merkel Senior Center will turn green March 18 in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, center Director Melanie Perry said.

Senior visitors will enjoy hors d’oeuvres and St. Patrick’s Day-themed games and puzzles, Perry said, with winners receiving prizes, also centered upon St. Patrick’s Day.

The senior center will host its fourth annual garden party, during which residents choose what they want planted in the raised bed garden at the senior center.

“Everybody comes out and helps and chooses what they want planted,” Perry said.

The senior center will continue to host the “Getting to Know You Lunches” on Wednesdays, too, with fifth-graders from Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights, when the students visit with seniors during their lunch period.

Other events in March include:

► March 5: Fat Tuesday. Celebrate Mardi Gras with a King Cake, Mardi Gras beads and Moon Pies. Participants will also be able to reflect on Lent.

► March 12: Tuesday art with Tina Chaffin.

The New Merkel House will also be hosting Tech Talk Thursdays and its monthly nutrition education program, as well as fun, fellowship and lunch (11:45 a.m., Monday-Friday); Tai Chi and table games (12:30 p.m., Tuesdays), and bingo (11 a.m., Wednesdays and Fridays). 

Senior Citizen Luncheon

There will be a senior citizen luncheon March 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Dogwood Room of the city’s civic center.

The luncheon will be held in honor of Alabama’s Bicentennial and will join together the city’s senior citizens and the Vestavia Hills Historic Society. Lunch will be served, and musical comedy group “Three on a String,” will perform songs about the history of Vestavia Hills.