⭐️ Four folks to follow | Experience Columbia SC announced its 2025 Columbia Ambassadors — the locals chosen to highlight the best of Soda City — alongside the release of this year’s Columbia SC Insider’s Guide, now available at the Columbia SC Visitors Center in the Vista.
🍀 Get your green garb ready | Get ready for the 43rd St. Pat’s in Five Points festival on Saturday, March 15, from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., featuring 24 acts across six stages. Every year, the festival transforms Five Points into a lively hub of music, vendors, food trucks, and family-friendly attractions.
🩷 Williams-Brice Stadium is turning pink | Cola Rosé Shower — a local organization focused on raising awareness for women’s healthcare in the Midlands — will return to Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 8. From 3 to 7 p.m., the beloved stadium will be decked out in pink instead of garnet for a day.
Events
Events
Saturday, Jan. 25
Art Class: Intuitive Painting 102 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Columbia Museum of Art | $96+ | This class further explores how attendees can rediscover their inner joy in artmaking.
The Palmetto Opera presents “Tosca” | 3 p.m. | Koger Center for the Arts | $35+ | The opera will be performed in the original Italian with English subtitles projected above the stage.
Shuck & Sip | Steel Hands Brewing - Vista | Price of purchase | Shuck oysters, sip special mimosas + Bloody Marys, and shop local vendors during the Sunday market.
Thursday, Jan. 30
2025 SC Farmer Resource Rodeo | 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. | The Senate | $25 | Enjoy this in-person networking gathering of over 35 farm resource providers — open to all aspiring, beginning, and small-scale farmers.
Friday, Jan. 31
Winter Sidewalk Sale | Friday, Jan. 31, Saturday, Feb. 1 | Times vary | The Devine District | Price of purchase | Shop ‘til you drop in the Devine District as local merchants offer the best post-holiday deals to make room for spring inventory.
$50,000. That’s one of the bonuses Instagram is offering creators of short-form videos. We’re not doing it for the cash — we just want to keep you informed. (The Verge)
Theater
$17.99. That’s how much Netflix’s standard plan will cost per month after adjusting prices again in the US, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina — up from $15.49. Fun fact: movie tickets at a local theater like The Nick are cheaper than Netflix + they allow folks to walk up and purchase popcorn buckets to-go, just sayin’. (The Verge)
History
The moon just landed a spot on the World Monuments Watch’s list of at-risk historical sites. Specifically, the remnants of early moon landings were identified as in need of preservation. See the global map of other watch sites.
Wellness
Posture check — this is your weekly reminder to straighten your back. If that felt good, imagine how nice a stretch at Bikram Yoga Columbia would feel. Find your flow at these Soda City yoga studios.
Sports
Canes Won Three, Looking for Four + Canucks Trade Rumors. Go beyond the scoreboard and behind the scenes of the Carolina Hurricaneswith Locked On’s daily, team-focused podcasts.
City Guide
City Guide
📚 Check out these local authors
The local authors section at Richland Library is located at the first floor entrance. | Photo by COLAtoday
What’s better than a good book? A good book written by your neighbor. Brew up a batch of your favorite cup of tea or Indah coffee and get ready to meet your next read, because we’re talking about locally written books in Columbia.
Fiction
“The Forgotten Girl” by India Hill Brown | Release date: Nov. 15, 2019 | This ghost story for young adults begins when a young girl stumbles upon a crumbling gravestone in an abandoned cemetery.
Learn something new
“University of South Carolina in Focus” by Chris Horn | Release date: Aug. 2, 2022 | This book paints a rich and vivid history of SC’s flagship university, chartered in 1801.
Personal stories
“Pops: Learning to Be a Son and a Father” by Craig Melvin | Release date: June 15, 2021 | This memoir from Columbia native + news anchor of NBC’s Today show is an exploration of fatherhood and race.
This book is listed in our larger local authors City Guide above, but I wanted to give it a special shout-out because it was selected as a Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club Pick earlier this year. Published last February, DeLana R.A. Dameron’s debut novel, “Redwood Court,” set in a 1990s Columbia cul-de-sac, explores the highs and lows of life in the South through a Black Southern family’s eyes. I have this book on my to-be-read list this year. Since we’re talking books, check out how some of our readers voted in a poll, sharing which genres they would typically reach for if left alone in a bookstore for several hours — aka my dream.
Answered
Answered
The genre I reach for the most when I want to cuddle up with a good book is...
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