Good morning + welcome to the May PlanAhead edition of the newsletter. If you’re relatively new here, you may not have been around for these yet. If you’ve been here for the long haul, cue the celebrations — our monthly event conversations are back.
In case you haven’t seen one yet, our PlanAhead conversations highlight some upcoming events for the month that we’re looking forward to. We’ve also linked out to our full May PlanAhead below if you want to go ahead and fill out your monthly social calendar.
- Taste of Lake Murray | Thurs., May 6 | 6 p.m. | Doubletree by Hilton, 2100 Bush River Rd. | $100 | Six participating chefs will be selected to participate in the World Food Championship + proceeds benefit the July 4 Lake Murray fireworks show. 🍽️
- Art on State | Fri., May 7 | 5-10 p.m. | State Street, West Columbia | Free | Spend the night on State Street with an art crawl, live music, live mural painting, and local food and beverages. 🎨
- Second Sunday Stroll — The Vista | Sun., May 9 | 2-3:30 p.m. | Columbia Visitors Center, 1120 Lincoln St. | $5+ | Join Historic Columbia on a tour through the Vista to learn about its vast architectural history. 🏢
- Chamber Ensemble at Hunter-Gatherer Hangar | Wed., May 19 | 6 p.m. | Hunter-Gatherer Hangar | $15 | Grab a local brew + pizza and enjoy the sounds of the Columbia Philharmonic while you watch the planes take off. 🎻
- Columbia Food and Wine Festival | Sun., May 23 | 1-4 p.m. | Hampton-Preston Mansion + Robert Mills Estate | $65+ | Grab your foodie friends and spend the afternoon on these historic properties with food and wine samples from local restaurants. 🍷
- The Contemporaries present Picnic Pop Up | Sun., May 23 | 11 a.m.-1 p.m. + 2-4 p.m. | Columbia Museum of Art | $140+ | This picnic on Boyd Plaza will include food and drink, a live painting exhibition, music, and entry to the museum’s galleries. 🧺
Dish
Outdoors
Cause
- Blood Drive | Mon., May 3 | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | Koger Center | Free | Participants will receive a $20 Amazon gift card and t-shirt. 💉
PlanAhead
- Midlands Gives Day | Tues., May 4 | 6 a.m.-11:59 p.m. | Virtual | $10+ | Want to make a difference in your community? Check out the 8th annual Midlands Gives Day. Ⓟ
- Tequila Dinner | Thurs., May 6 | 6-9 p.m. | The Grand | $75 | Enjoy a 4-course meal tailored to the evening’s tequila lineup, with a cocktail specialist on hand to explain each one. Ⓟ
In honor of Star Wars week, Curiosity Coffee Bar is offering Baby Yoda cupcakes filled with either blue or red filling to let the force determine if you’re a sith or jedi. The cupcakes are only available for preorder and can be picked up tomorrow through Thursday.
#DYK that your photos and quotes could be featured in our newsletter?
Just use #COLAtoday on social media.
Weather
- 84º | Scattered thunderstorms | 40% chance of rain ⛈️
Coronavirus
- The mass vaccination site at Gamecock Park is moving to the Colonial Life Arena. The last day at Gamecock Park was this past Sat., May 1, and the site at Colonial Life will open on Wed., May 5 at 8 a.m. The new site will add evening hours + help keep staff out of the summer heat. 💉 (WLTX)
ComingSoon
- A new breakfast and brunch spot is opening this summer in the Vista. The Toasty Hot Spot (1305 Lady St.) will be open Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-3 p.m. and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Fridays. You can follow along with the restaurant here. 🥞
WaterCooler
- Over the weekend, 3 additional Gamecock Football players were selected in the NFL Draft. Ernest Jones was selected in the third round by the Los Angeles Rams. Shi Smith was selected by the Carolina Panthers + Israel Mukuamu was selected by the Dallas Cowboys, each in the sixth round. 🏈 (WIS)
Announced
- Historic Columbia announced the return of its indoor house tours, which began on Saturday. The tours will be semi-guided and operate on a limited capacity on Tuesdays and Friday-Sunday. View the full tour schedule and ticket details here. 🏠
Number
- $2 billion. The amount South Carolinians spent on lottery tickets last year. According to The Post and Courier, the lottery is already 15% ahead of that pace this year. 💸 (The Post and Courier)
Community
- The City of Cayce is looking for submissions of photos that highlight life in Cayce for its 2021-2022 citizens’ calendar. Submissions are due May 28 + must feature a Cayce location or residents. The grand prize winner will win $100 and have their work featured on the cover. 📸
Arts
- Last week, Richland Library announced the launch of its Local Artist Directory — which will help users learn more about + connect with other creatives in the community — through a partnership with One Columbia and former Artist-in-Residence Crush Rush. Check out the directory here. 🎨
Asked
- May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Also known as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, this month has been celebrated since 1992. We want to highlight prominent AAPI locals and Cola-based AAPI-owned businesses. Know of someone we should feature? Send us an email.
Digs
- Looking for an apartment with a pool? Brookland has the resort-style saltwater solution to help you beat the heat this summer. 👙Ⓟ
This year, Lowes Foods’ annual “Beer Hunt” goes virtual for an at-home tasting experience, ft. a pre-packaged box of goodies available for purchase at every Lowes Foods Beer Den | Photo provided
It’s hunting season — beer hunting season, that is. 🍺
Lowes Foods is launching a new Virtual Beer Hunt series for Summer 2021, where beer enthusiasts can find special boxes of craft beer + goodies in all Lowes Foods Beer Dens (find yours). The boxes contain 5 beers from a partnering brewery of the month, plus Lowes Foods Brown Bag trail mix + beef jerky and 2 commemorative Beer Den glasses for the tasting — and no hunt would be complete without a field guide, aka a description of the beers.
After purchase, participants get access to a link where they can stream a virtual, guided beer tasting with the participating brewery on a specified event date. Virtual event attendees will also get a QR code to scan + automatically check-in the beers on the Untappd app to earn the Virtual Beer Hunting badge (talking to you, beer nerds).
The first “hunt” was on Sat., April 17 with Charlotte-based NoDa Brewing Company — but you’ll still need your shotgunning skills (pun intended 😉) for the upcoming hunts:
📆 MAY: Sat., May 15, 6 p.m. with Charleston-based Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co.(with bonus Beer Den coaster/bottle opener + Edmund’s Oast koozie)
📆 JUNE: Sat., June 19, 6 p.m. with Mount Pleasant-based Westbrook Brewing Company Ⓟ
Did you miss the chance to jump into the history of the Wateree River Ferries last week? Take a look here and don’t forget to vote on what topic we should dive into next month.
💭 Say Hello: What do you want to know about your city?
✏️️ Want to write an article for us? Find out how here.
👀 Want your business featured in our newsletter? Learn more about advertising opportunities here.
📖 Check out our Editorial Ethics Policy here.
Did a friend forward this to you?
It can be in your inbox tomorrow a.m.
|
