• Submit your poem here by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, April 16.
• Include a title + author’s name in your submission. Titles are an exception to the rule, and do not need to pull words from the newsletter.
• Poems, excluding title and author’s name, must be 75 words or less.

• While we’ve placed a pretty big limitation on your poem’s words, the form + direction is up to you — and we can’t wait to see what you all come up with.
• The Editorial team behind COLAtoday will narrow submissions down to a group of finalists based on style, originality, artistic quality, and creativity. Finalists will be announced in our Friday, April 21 newsletter and we’ll ask our readers to vote for their favorite poem. The winner’s poem will be featured in our Wednesday, April 26 newsletter.
• Pro tip: To make the process easier on yourself, we recommend printing out today’s issue, highlighting the words you find most interesting, and crossing them out as you include them in your poem.
• Don’t forget to keep track of your articles (words like “the” or “and”).

• The Market at Richland Library | Wednesday, Apr. 5 | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. | Richland Library Main, 1431 Assembly St., Columbia | Price of purchase | The Market is back at Richland Library and bringing farmers, bakers, artists, creators, and local authors all to one place.

• First Thursday on Main Street | Thursday, Apr. 6| 6 p.m. | Main Street, Columbia | Free entry | Main Street District businesses stay open late, along with live music and food trucks in Boyd Plaza.
• Lexington Live Concert Series | Thursday, Apr. 6 | 6:30 p.m. | Icehouse Amphitheater, 107 W. Main St., Lexington | Free | Under the Sun headlines the evening, playing a variety of genres such as country, pop, classic rock, and 1990’s rock.
• LIZZO + HARRY STYLES DRAG SHOW | Thursday, Apr. 6 | 7 p.m. | New Brookland Tavern, 122 State St., West Columbia | $10 | Performers include Collin MeDaddie, Susu Serenity, Kenya Pleaser, Marty McGuy, and Han D. Mann.
• South Carolina Gamecocks Baseball vs. Louisiana State University Tigers Baseball | Thursday, Apr. 6-Saturday, Apr. 8 | Times vary | Founders Park, 431 Williams St., Columbia | $15-$20 | The No. 6 ranked Gamecocks take on the No. 1 LSU Tigers in one of the biggest series of the year.
• Columbia Fireflies vs. Augusta GreenJackets | Thursday, Apr. 6 | 7:05 p.m. | Segra Park, 1640 Freed St., Columbia | $5-$18 | Pick up a magnet schedule at the gate and enjoy post-game fireworks on Budweiser Thirsty Thursday.

• EGG-cessible Egg Hunt | Friday, Apr. 7 | 6-6:30 p.m. | Saluda Shoals Park, Cattail Shelter 5605 Bush River Rd., Columbia | Free | BYOB (Bring your own Basket) to this accessible egg hunt held at Leo’s Landing Inclusive Playground — open to people of all ages with mental and/or physical disabilities.

• Earth Day Wine Dinner | Tuesday, Apr. 11 | 6-8 p.m. | Hampton Street Vineyard, 1207 Hampton St., Columbia | $78 | Enjoy a pairing of six organic wines with an excellent vegetarian tasting menu created by the HSV culinary team in honor of Earth Day.*

What we tried:

• Que Bueno Mexican Bar and Grill is opening a second location at 407 N. Lake Dr. in Lexington, across from Lexington Elementary School. Formerly home to Comfort Scratch Kitchen, the new location will have indoor and outdoor patio seating and plans to host private soirées.

• The Richland County Master Gardener Association is hosting a plant and garden treasures sale Thursday, April 20-Friday, 21 from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at the Sandhill Farmers Market located at 900 Clemson Rd. Buy trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, bulbs, succulents, herbs, vegetables, gardening supplies, and more.

• Chernoff Newman, a local communications agency, received almost 20 accolades at the 2023 American Advertising Federation (AAF) Midlands’ American Advertising Awards ceremony. See a full list of the agency’s accolades. Congrats, Chernoff Newman team.

• April is the month of the Military Child, and the Defense Department is highlighting programs, resources, and services supporting military children and youth. Check here for services provided by Fort Jackson, the U.S. Army’s primary center for Basic Combat Training.
• First Citizens Bank will no longer accept payments from City of Columbia Water customers, effective Saturday, July 1. Learn more about how to pay your water bill online, in person, or by mail.

• A group of students from USC’s Marketing Strategy and Planning course are surveying Soda Citizens to find ways to attract more young professionals to the city. Fill out the brief survey to help them out with their project and we’ll report back on their findings.

• Love golf? Whether just starting out or a seasoned player, you’ll want to see hall of fame coach Puggy Blackmon’s tips to prepare for the golf season (think: what to focus on, improving body movement, and more).*

• Curious how a manufacturing company turns rubber into protective nitrile gloves? See Nephron Pharmaceuticals’ new 400,000-sqft Nephron Nitrile glove-making facility (which officially opened in December) — and what a mass production glove former looks like.*

• Trying to talk someone into an April vacation? Just show them these hotel deals on Expedia. We love: The Islander Resort that’s on a private beach in the Florida Keys.