HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – The public is invited to the Hidden Valley Lake Garden Club's next meeting on Monday, Feb. 13.

Marilyn Waits, president of Redbud Audubon Society, will discuss how to create a welcoming habitat that offers food, water and shelter for a variety of Lake County birds.

She will bring several handouts on this topic and will suggest other resources to explore.

Waits has been president of the Redbud Audubon chapter for seven years and was awarded the 2011 Stars of Lake County Environmental Award. She is a small business consultant and former vice president at Bank of America.

Meetings of the Hidden Valley Lake Garden Club are free and open to the public on the second Monday of each month.

They are held in the activities room of the administration building of the Hidden Valley Lake Association, 18174 Hidden Valley Road.

A social gathering with refreshments begins at 9:30 a.m., with the business meeting and program at 10 a.m.

For further information please contact Angela Birk at 707-987-0195, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

From noon to 5 p.m. the public is invited to attend this new event being presented by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce.

Activities will begin at 12:15 p.m. with a St. Patrick's Day Costume and Kazoo Parade, open to all ages.

There will be first place ($50), second place ($25) and third place ($10) prizes awarded to the winners of the costume contest.

A Leprechaun's Lounge inside the hall will feature children's activities and games.

Entries are being sought for the Irish Stew Cook-off & Tasting and applications can be found at www.lakecochamber.com.

On Feb. 1, you will find more information on this new event at www.rhythm-and-brews.com.

All nonprofit organizations, businesses and individuals are encouraged to enter the cookoff. The entry fee is $25; all who enter will be provided a 10-foot by 10-foot space, 8-foot-long table, two chairs and electricity.

A limit of 20 entries only will be accepted for the cookoff.

The winner of the People's Choice Tasting competition will be awarded $100. In addition, there will be a $50 prize awarded to the winner of the best decorated booth for the cookoff contestants. This prize also will be awarded through a People's Choice vote.

The Lake County Home Brewer's club will be making a presentation at 1:30 p.m. and the Home Wine Makers club will do so at 2:45 p.m.

If you ever wanted to make your own beer or wine, attend Rhythm & Brews to talk with the people who do.

The admission price of $25 includes 15 brew tastings and 10 Irish Stew tastings. Irish Stew tastings only are $5/5 tastes; microbrew tastings only are $15/10 tastings.

Additional food and beverage vendors will be available as well.

Music by three different groups will be presented during the afternoon and tickets to win a Pot O' Gold are available through the chamber, its directors and if some are left, at the event on March 17.

The drawing for three prizes of $250, $250 and $500 will be done at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Please contact the Lake County Chamber of Commerce at 707-263-5092 with any questions.

Lake County Special Districts said this week that property owners should understand that these are private companies have no connection to Special Districts.

Special Districts also has no knowledge or information about these companies or the insurance coverage they may offer.

The meeting will take place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the meeting room at McDonald's on Todd Road in Lakeport.

Meetings are free and open to the public.

For more information visit http://meetup.com/lcflyingsaucerclub, call Chip Saucer at 707-263-3391 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Bouska, a local history buff, will discuss John Cobb's residency in the Stone House, the village of Guenoc in the mid-1860s, and Middletown’s founding in 1870.

Refreshments will be served. All are welcome.

Public tours of Stone House Museum begin the second Saturday of each month, beginning Feb. 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Located at 18174 Hidden Valley Road in Hidden Valley Lake, the house is a California State Historical Monument.

For entrance to the Hidden Valley Lake gated community, visitors should enter at the Hartmann Road gate and mention they’re touring Stone House.

For more information see www.lakecountystonehouse.com.

A meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31, at the Kelseyville United Methodist Church to discuss ways to address this problem in the Kelseyville area.

The church is located at the corner of First and Main Streets in Kelseyville.

The Kelseyville United Methodist Church has maintained a small food pantry at its facility for over 20 years that has been administered in conjunction with its Thrift Shop program.

In response to the increased number of families and individuals in need, the church and the Unitarian Universalist Community of Lake County (which shares use of the church facility) have decided to look for ways to expand its current food pantry to address the growing need in the community.

Those interested in helping design a viable and sustainable food pantry program are invited to join the group on Jan. 31.

The meeting will focus on strategies and action-steps the church and participants must take to grow the program to effectively address the needs of the community.

Those individuals unable to attend the meeting who have an interest in participating in the food pantry efforts should contact Rev. Wanda Celli at 707-245-0182.

The Kelseyville United Methodist Church also will participate in “Lake County CAN!” an event to stock seven local food pantries and to ship 20,000 meals overseas by partnering with “Stop Hunger Now.”

“Lake County CAN!” is being hosted by the Lake County Circuit of the United Methodist Church in late March. The circuit is comprised of the seven United Methodist Churches in Lake County.

The “Lake County CAN!” event will be held at the Upper Lake Community United Methodist Church on Friday, March 30, from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and at the Clearlake United Methodist Church on Saturday, March 31, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Community participation at both events is welcome.

Individuals can register to be a part of this event at http://rethinkchurch.org/impact-event/lake-county-can.

Information about the "Stop Hunger Now" program can be found at http://www.stophungernow.org.

For more information about “Lake County CAN!” contact Reverend Shannon Kimbell-Auth at 707-263-4788.