SPECIAL EVENTS Events This Week DOWNTOWN SATURDAY. Everyone's Irish on Saturday, March 16, for Downtown SaturDay and Night as the St. Patrick's Educational Society hosts Peace for Ireland, Peace for the Children. A St. Patrick's Celtic Music and Dance Festival spreads cheer downtown with music by the Hot Desert Love Toads, Pete Fine and Beyond Words, Catacoustic Groove and Arm & Hammer. The Primavera Women in the Arts Festival continues with showings of Something Sacred at the Screening Room. An Arts For Me art show presents creative art displays at the Ronstadt Transit Center. Horse-drawn wagon rides are provided by Rancho Venado. Wagon rides cost $5 per couple, $1 per child with the first child free. Visit the information booth at Sixth Avenue. and Congress Street for a schedule of events. Call the Arts District Partnership at 624-9977 for information. ST. PATRICK MASS. An Ecumenical Mass will be celebrated at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at Saint Augustine's Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave. The principal celebrant and speaker is Father Andrew Greeley. In the spirit of reconciliation between the Protestant and Catholic traditions of Ireland, and in recognition of Peace for Ireland, Peace for Children, Father Greeley will be joined by Rev. John Fife of the Southside Presbyterian Church, and Rev. Robert Williams of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Call the St. Patrick Educational Society at 620-6353 for information. ERIN GO BRAUGH! The St. Patrick's Day Parade starts at 11 a.m. Sunday, March 17. This year's theme is Peace for Ireland, Peace for the Children, and the grand marshals are Sister Charlotte Anne Swift and former Congressman Jim McNulty. Parade begins at 17th Street and Stone Avenue and ends at Armory Park on Sixth Avenue and 13th Street with an Irish music festival. Sixth Avenue will be closed to allow pedestrian traffic between Armory Park and the Children's Museum, where the Children's Fair gathers from noon to 6 p.m. Museum and event admission is free. Call 620-6353 for information. MEATLESS FEAT. Fill your belly at the Great American MeatOut on Wednesday, March 20. The public is invited to kick the "meat habit"--at least for a day--and look into the benefits of a vegetarian diet. Call FARM (Farm Animal Reform Movement) at (800) MEATOUT for special events in the area, or look them up on the World Wide Web at http://members.gnn.com/farm/. ARTFEST '96. ArtFest '96 of Tucson runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 16, and Sunday, March 17, at Rillito Park, North First Avenue south of River Road. The event features continuous family entertainment, fine foods and fine art. Over 150 juried artists and craftspeople will exhibit and sell their works. There are many hands-on activities for children. Admission and parking are free. HEMP, HEMP, HOORAY. Discover the many uses of hemp at a hemp exhibition and fashion show at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 17, at Buena Vista Theatre, 251 S. Wilmot Road. Guest speakers and displays will educate the public on the many uses of hemp, including its use in medicine, textiles, food, oil, paper and fuel. The film The Hemp Revolution will also be shown. Doors open at 6 p.m. Admission is $7. CARNIVAL. The Student Council of Catalina High School hosts a family carnival from 4 p.m. to midnight Friday, March 15, at 3645 E. Pima St. The event includes carnival games, food, music and a whole lot of fun. Proceeds benefit the Ara Parseghian Foundation and Catalina High's Better Education by Supporting Our Teens (B.E.S.T.) fund. Call Catalina High School at 318-2270 for information. MUSTANG MANIA. The Old Pueblo Mustang Club hosts the second annual Mustang Mania show from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 16, at the Holiday Inn Holidome, 4500 S. Palo Verde Road. If you're a Mustang fanatic, this is the place to check out just about every year and style ever made. Admission is free. Call 746-1161 for information. COINS OF THE REALM. The monthly Tucson Coin and Stamp Show meets from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 17, at Marketplace USA, 3750 E. Irvington Road. Collectibles such as coins, stamps, tokens, post cards and sports cards will be available to buy, sell and trade. Free appraisals, admission and parking. The Tucson Stamp Club meets on the first and third Tuesday of the month in the Armory Park Senior Center, 220 S. Fifth Ave. Browse and trade at 6:30 p.m., with meeting following at 7:45 p.m. Call 743-0429. OPEN-AIR MARKET. Experience the charm of a European style open-air market from 2 p.m. to dusk Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, at Plaza Palomino at Swan and Fort Lowell roads. The gourmet food fair features fresh produce, herbs, coffee, arts and crafts, live music and more. Call 795-1177 for information. Out Of Town RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL. Take a voyage back to the days of knights and chivalry at the Arizona Renaissance Festival and Artisan Marketplace, continuing through March 24 at Gold Canyon Ranch west of Florence Junction. This 25-acre re-creation of a 16th century European open-air market features music, dance, comedy, food, drink, arts, crafts and jousting tournaments. Advance discount tickets are available at all Fry's grocery stores for $10.95, $3.95 for children. Children 5 and under are free. Admission is $11.95, $4.95 for children at the gate. Visitors to the Festival are encouraged to dress in costume. Take Hwy. 89 north to Florence Junction, and head west for seven miles on Hwy. 60/89 to the Festival gate. Call (520) 463-2700 for information.

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