The committee promises "a fine evening of dining, entertainment and relaxation." Musical entertainment will be provided by Solo-Tu.

Proposed by a band of women at a friend’s wedding reception, last year’s inaugural celebration proved a huge success with organizers closing ticket sales after they topped 400.

The St. Patrick’s Celebration, a gathering by women, is offered as an alternative to the all-male Friendly Sons of St. Patrick dinner. While the celebration is sponsored by a committee of women, everyone is invited.

Ms. Adcroft, this year’s featured speaker, will be returning home for the event.

A graduate of Bishop Hannan High School, she is the daughter of Joseph and Patricia Adcroft, 801 Electric St., owners of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts on Moosic and Front streets. She has more than 20 years of magazine editorial experience including serving as deputy editor of InStyle magazine and editor-in-chief of NetGuide and Omni, and as an editor of Good Housekeeping and Family Weekly, and is the author of "Everyday Doughnuts" (St. Martin’s Press) a story about life in a fictional doughnut shop in Scranton.

She began her journalism career at the Mid Valley Gazette and the Carbondale Miner. She has appeared frequently on television and has taught at New York University and Syracuse University, her alma mater. She is a member of the board of directors of the SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

"Like the good Lackawanna County Irish girl that she is," she said she "Met her husband while reading ‘Angela’s Ashes.’¥". She married Steven Witzel last year. They live in New York City.

Limited $40 tickets are still available for the dinner and celebration, which begins with a cash bar at 5:30 p.m. Tickets will not be available at the door.