For those Irish and Non-Irish Celebrating Today: Be Careful Out There!

1. Consider this a friendly reminder from the Marietta Police...and your only reminder: The department's Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (S.T.E.P.) will be out in full force today and Friday in anticipation of upcoming St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

The S.T.E.P. unit and the Uniform Patrol Division both will be conducting intense patrols for drunk and impaired drivers. Any drivers caught drunk or impaired, the police say, will go to jail.

Make sure you make ride plans before you celebrate. For driver services, check out this past Marietta Patch article.

2. Sorry to inform Marietta's Brenda Lee fans, but the 1950s legend had to cancel her April 2 performance at the due to health issues. The good news is that the organizers of this year's Encore Series has Earl Scruggs on board to take her place on stage.

Scruggs, of course, is the legendary bluegrass banjo picker who perfected the three-finger "Scruggs" style of playing the instrument. His "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" is essential, but Scruggs may be most famous for creating the theme song to the Beverly Hillbillies.

Scruggs has earned his place in both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor and has earned a National Heritage Fellowship award and multiple Grammy awards.

Patrons who bought tickets for the April 2 show may keep their tickets and present them for the Earl Scruggs concert to be seated in the same location. Refunds are available at the point of purchase and must be requested by April 2. The original ticket must be returned to receive a refund.

For information, call 770-528-8490.

3. Another friendly reminder in The 5 Things today...this one from the City of Marietta, which recently sent out a notice about homestead exemptions. If you own residential property within the city limits and live there, you might qualify for a $4,000 exemption. Go here to learn the details, but make sure you apply by April 1.

This exemption is different from exemptions offered through Cobb County. For details of those, visit cobbtax.org or call 770-528-8600.

4. Marietta Museum of History founder Dan Cox will offer a Brown Bag Banter today at the Kennesaw House as he tells stories and shares pictures of his hometown of Marietta and the museum. The event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Call the museum at 770-794-5710 for details.

5. While celebrants of St. Patrick's Day imbibe mass quantities today, many adherents of the Jewish faith will honor Ta'anit Ester or the Fast of Esther, a fast from dawn until dusk today. The fast honors Queen Esther's fast at the miracle of Purim, when the Jewish people were delivered from a plot of annihilation in the Persian Empire.