Get the best of both worlds this month as we say so long to summer and welcome autumn with open arms. With a calendar full to the brim with festivals, concerts, exhibits and of course, football, you won’t want to miss a moment of everything we have going on in Columbia SC this September. 


Community Insider

The fall festival season is starting off strong with the 33rd Annual Greek Festival, 41st Annual Jubilee: Festival of Black History & Culture, Irmo Okra Strut, 12th Annual Palmetto Peanut Boil, Colour of Music: Black Classical Musicians Festival and Midlands Family Food Truck Festival all taking place this month. 

Stock up on fresh fall bounty at Soda City Market, Market at Icehouse and Sandhill Farmers Market, or let someone else cook these local goods for you during the September Harvest Dinner at City Roots. 

New to UofSC this year? Come to the CMA Freshman Mixer during First Thursday on Main and get to know Columbia. 

Spend some time with the kiddos during Family Fun Night at Columbia Museum of Art or plan a date night out amidst art and mystery at the Art Bloom Masquerade at the Arcade Building. 


Something to Cheer About

Gamecock football has made its glorious return to Williams-Brice stadium for the season. So whether you’re a Gamecock fan or supporting a visiting team, don your best team spirit and head to Willy B this month as USC Gamecock Football takes on Charleston Southern University, Alabama and Kentucky at home. 

Looking to take part in a sport yourself? Lace up your sneakers to participate in the 2019 Midlands Walk to Defeat ALS, 2019 Tunnel 2 Towers 5K, 9/11 Run for Our Troops 5K or The Great Inflatable Race at Saluda Shoals Park. 


In the Spotlight

September’s concert lineup runs the gamut from underground to totally star-studded. Snag tickets to see Hootie & The Blowfish ft. Barenaked Ladies, Carrie Underwood Cry Pretty Tour and Trey Songz at Colonial Life Arena. 

The Senate welcomes The SteelDrivers, Earls of Leicester, Frank Foster, Riley Green, Blue October, Cosmic Charlie - Dark Side of The Dead, Fever 333 and CupcakKe this month. 

Catch headliner Edwin McCain Live at Irmo Okra Strut Festival or Sister Hazel at Rock 4 Recovery at Central Energy. 

Focus on the music itself with Dueling Pianos, Mark Rapp Group at Pearlz Upstairz, Return to Hogwarts with the South Carolina Philharmonic, UofSC Symphony Orchestra Opening Night, Columbia Baroque Concert Series: “Love’s a Pain, Love’s a Joy,” and Chaye Alexander Presents Live at Boyd Plaza: The Reggae Jazz Experience and Made in America at Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College. 

Head across the river as Nashville talent is taking over the stage at Steel Hands Brewing for Songwriters in the Round and the Rhythm on the River series returns to the West Columbia Riverwalk and Amphitheater

Finally, get ready to dance along to Black Water Shine at CWP. 

A night at the theatre is just what the doctor ordered. Collect playbills for Company at Trustus Theatre, A Nice Family Gathering at Firehouse Theatre and Stories of Dislocation at the Center for Performance Experiment. For an extra special treat snag tickets to Hello, Dolly! to kick off the 101st season of the United States' longest running community theatre, the Town Theatre.


Cultural Programming

School is back in session, and you can add a little extra learning and discovery to your Columbia syllabus too. Catch the last week of Wow Pop Bliss: Jimmy Keuhnle’s Inflatable Art and Mimi Kato: Ordinary Sagas at Columbia Museum of Art and Mana Hewitt: Persistence at 701 Center for Contemporary Art. It’s also the 100th Anniversary of WWI Exhibit at the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum. 

Find out what’s new at McKissick Museum with Abstract Art from the Permanent Collection, Piece by Piece: Quilts from the Permanent Collection, Thank You! Love, McKissick and Nature of Fall with Rudy Mancke. Or pop in for some special programming at Columbia Museum of Art by way of Stop-In Studios, Focal Points: Hats Off!, Focal Points: Black Cultural Art and Focal Points: The Art of Disability. 

Enjoy miscellaneous wonders such as Dinosaurs Around the World at Riverbanks Zoo, a Moonlight Cemetery & Secrets from the Grave Tour, or The Road West: Julia Johnson & Anna Redwine at ifArt Gallery.