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Spotlight
E Newsletter
Columbia offers a wide range of recreation; exciting attractions and spectator sports; and top-notch meeting facilities.
Calendar of Events
Welcome to the Official Columbia Calendar of Events managed by the Columbia Regional Visitors Center. Events are searchable by date, keyword and category, with ongoing events listed on the lower portion of the page. If you would like your event to be considered for a listing on our calendar, please review our calendar criteria and submit the details of your event.
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Wednesday May 22, 2013
"Miss Saigon"
- May 22, 2013
- Location: Town Theatre
- Address: 1012 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: Town Theatre
- Times: Wednesday - Saturday 8 pm; Sunday at 3 pm
The award winning musical from the creators of Les Miserables showcases the tale of the tragic romance between a strong-willed Vietnamese girl and an American G.I. during the last days of the Vietnam War. This story is a modern retelling of Puccini's Madam Butterfly and features songs such as "I Still Believe," "Why God Why," Sun and Moon" and "I'd Give My Life for You." This show contains adult themes and lanquage.
"Songs of a New World"
- May 22, 2013
- Location: Workshop Theatre
- Address: 1136 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: Workshop Theatre
- Times: Tuesday - Saturday 8 pm; Sunday 3 pm
Four expressive singers will take you on a musical journey of heartfelt experiences and life lessons. As the first verse begins, the lyric tells us explicitly: "It's about one moment... And just when your'e on the verge of success, the sky starts to change and the wind starts to blow." In each song we will meet someone who has reached a defining moment in his or her life which almost everyone encounters.
Between the Springmaid Sheets
- May 22, 2013
- Location: South Carolina State Museum
- Address: 301 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: South Carolina State Museum
- Times: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm; Sunday 1 - 5 pm; Open Mondays for the month of December and Memorial Day through Labor Day 10 am-5 pm
The daring and controversial advertisements that rescued a struggling South Carolina textile business and made Springs Cotton Mills one of the giants of the industry are examined in this fascinating art exhibit. Through dozens of works of art, original illustrations and advertisements, museum guests will learn the story of dashing Col. Elliott Springs, a World War I flying ace. Springs inherited his father's textile mill in 1931 and used racy images, innuendo-laced text and savvy business moves...
Blooming Butterflies
- May 22, 2013
- Location: Edventure
- Address: 211 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: EdVenture Children's Museum
- Times: Monday-Saturday: First entry is at 9:30 a.m. Last entry is at 4:30 p.m. Sunday: First entry is at 12:30 p.m. Last entry is at 4:30 p.m.
Come explore the world of the butterfly! Visit EdVenture's living exhibit, Blooming Butterflies, and explore the world of these fascinating insects! This 2,500 square foot exhibit is filled with dozens of species of trees and plants to showcase the lifespan of more than 20 species of butterflies native to the Southeast. Be sure to check out the Bloom Room and observe chrysalises and emerging butterflies. Admission is free with general museum admission.
Celebrating Teachers
- May 22, 2013
- Location: Columbia Museum of Art
- Address: 1515 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: Columbia Museum of Art
- Times: Tuesday - Friday 11 am - 5 pm; Saturday 10 am - 5 pm; Sunday Noon - 5 pm
South Carolina Future Minds recently hosted an inaugural contest, "Celebrating Teachers" and encouraged elementary, middle and high school students from around the state to submit their artwork. A team of judges narrowed the submissions to the top 30 and Haylee Bush, a third grader at Boiling Springs Elementary won the most online votes during the contest. The top entries, featuring drawings, photographs, prints, collages and paintings are on view in the Interactive Education Gallery. ...
Civil War in 3D
- May 22, 2013
- Location: South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum
- Address: 301 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum
- Recurrence: Recurring weekly on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
- Times: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm; First Sunday 1 - 5 pm
Back by demand after the museum's popular World War I in 3D, this exhibit will showcase Civil War images as they were meant to be seen using 3-D technology and a large, flat screen TV! Visitors will also learn about the political and social importance of photography during the war and why it almost undermined the Northern war effort.
Early Adventures: Dirt Diggers
- May 22, 2013
- Address: 1403 Richland Street, Columbia, SC
- Recurrence: Recurring daily
- Times: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Join us this May-June for our Early Adventures program. We will be learning about archaeology this month as we visit the Mann-Simons Site. See the “Ghost Structures” that outline where building once stood and see some of the artifacts that were recovered during an archaeological dig that took place on this property. Participants will take part in activities like Pottery Re-fit and enjoy their own edible “dirt”. Our Early Adventures program is designed for private groups...
Football, the Exhibit
- May 22, 2013
- Address: 211 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: EdVenture Children's Museum
- Times: Monday – Saturday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m; Sunday: Noon – 5 p.m.
Score a touchdown with Football! This popular traveling exhibit from the Museum of Discovery opens May 18 through September 22 at EdVenture Children's Museum. Aside from being a competitive sport, Football is a 3,000 square foot exhibit that introduces visitors to the science, mathematics and technology behind the popular sport.
Found in Translation: The Geometric Abstraction of Steven Naifeh
- May 22, 2013
- Location: Columbia Museum of Art
- Address: 1515 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: Columbia Museum of Art
- Recurrence: Recurring daily
- Times: Tuesday - Friday 11 am - 5 pm; Saturday 10 am - 5 pm; Sunday Noon - 5 pm
Pulitzer Prize winner and South Carolina resident Steven Naifeh is simultaneously fascinated with the history of Western art and with motifs derived from Islamic art. He combines these influences in his powerful, large-scale and colorful abstract art. This exhibition of Naifeh's art shows visitors that what we share culturally is perhaps greater than what separates us. Abstract art is capable of expressing complex ideas like unity and continuity. "We all need to understand more about the wo...
From Backrooms to Battlefields: The Buying and Selling of the Confederacy
- May 22, 2013
- Location: South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum
- Address: 301 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum
- Times: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm; First Sunday 1 - 5 pm
Based on the discovery of rare Confederate purchasing receipts, this exhibit takes the visitor on a journey from the smoke-filled backroom deals of England, through the thrill and danger of blockade running in exotic foreign ports, to the Southern soldiers in the field. Learn how Confederate government used their lifeline to Europe to keep the Southern war machine running until Lee's surrender at Appomattox that ending this nation's greatest conflict.
Install It 3: Above and Below
- May 22, 2013
- Location: Vista Greenway
- Address: Vista Greenway Tunnel on Washington Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Recurrence: Recurring daily
Created for Artista Vista 2013, Install It 3: Above and Below taps into the history of Washington Street, which was once a major business and social neighborhood for Columbia's African American community. The street was and is the home of many important sites such as Zion Baptist Church, an African American state fair and the Richard Samuel Roberts photography studio. Most of the artwork is installed in and around the former train tunnel that is now part of the Vista Greenway. The tunnel runs di...
Paddle to see Rare Endangered Spider Lily
- May 22, 2013
- Address: 208 Candi Lane, Suite A, Columbia, SC 29210
- Venue: Get Your Gear On
- Recurrence: Recurring weekly on Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday
- Times: 11:00am
Paddle through one of the largest colonies of the rare Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies It is a candidate for State endangered listing and is a Federal species of concern This is a unique opportunity, and only for a limited time. Blooming period ends in early June This trip is on sale - 30% 0ff
Picasso: Master Prints
- May 22, 2013
- Location: Columbia Museum of Art
- Address: 1515 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: Columbia Museum of Art
- Times: Tuesday - Friday 11 am - 5 pm; Saturday 10 am - 5 pm; Sunday Noon - 5 pm
This small, but luxurious exhibition is a rare opportunity for South Carolinians to marvel at the graphic work of one of the 20th century's greatest artists up close. As an artist, Picasso is hardly in need of introduction. He was arguably the most influential painter, sculptor and printmaker of the 20th century. Included in Picasso: Master Prints is a portfolio of 10 color pochoirs made in the early 1920s and selections from Picasso's best-known etchings, The Vollard Suite. "Pochoir"...
Secrets of the Maya
- May 22, 2013
- Location: South Carolina State Museum
- Address: 301 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: South Carolina State Museum
- Times: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm; Sunday 1 - 5 pm; Open Mondays for the month of December and Memorial Day through Labor Day 10 am-5 pm
Unearth the mysteries of the Maya civilization which flourished in Mexico and Central America as far back as 2000 B.C. More than 100 magnificent artifacts help to tell the story of an ancient yet advanced culture that created a 365-day calendar, a base-20 numbering system, and a scheme of hieroglyphics to record numbers and dates of important religious festivals, plantings and harvests. Students will have the chance to compare and contrast the Maya civilization as discovered by the Spanish expl...
The Civil War in South Carolina: Family, Work and Sacrifice: Domestic Life During the War
- May 22, 2013
- Location: South Carolina State Museum
- Address: 301 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: South Carolina State Museum
- Recurrence: Recurring weekly on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
- Times: Tuesday-Saturday 10 am - 5 pm; Sunday 1 - 5 pm
The fourth installment of the Museum's series of exhibits focusing on the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.
Village Artists
- May 22, 2013
- Address: 631-8 Promenade Place, Village at Sandhill, Columbia, SC 29229
- Venue: Village at Sandhill
- Recurrence: Recurring every week day
- Times: Monday - Saturday 10 am - 8 pm, Sunday 12 noon - 6 pm
Fine 2-D and 3-D art presented by over 22 local artists.
Thursday May 23, 2013
"Miss Saigon"
- May 23, 2013
- Location: Town Theatre
- Address: 1012 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: Town Theatre
- Times: Wednesday - Saturday 8 pm; Sunday at 3 pm
The award winning musical from the creators of Les Miserables showcases the tale of the tragic romance between a strong-willed Vietnamese girl and an American G.I. during the last days of the Vietnam War. This story is a modern retelling of Puccini's Madam Butterfly and features songs such as "I Still Believe," "Why God Why," Sun and Moon" and "I'd Give My Life for You." This show contains adult themes and lanquage.
"Songs of a New World"
- May 23, 2013
- Location: Workshop Theatre
- Address: 1136 Bull Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: Workshop Theatre
- Times: Tuesday - Saturday 8 pm; Sunday 3 pm
Four expressive singers will take you on a musical journey of heartfelt experiences and life lessons. As the first verse begins, the lyric tells us explicitly: "It's about one moment... And just when your'e on the verge of success, the sky starts to change and the wind starts to blow." In each song we will meet someone who has reached a defining moment in his or her life which almost everyone encounters.
Back Porch 7 Days a Week
- May 23, 2013
- Address: 1616 Gervais St., Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: Back Porch on Gervais
- Recurrence: Recurring weekly on Thursday
- Times: 5pm until Close
Every Thursday night the back Porch is hosting the Mad Men and Women Young Professional's night. Join us and let the madness of the 9-5 grind wash away with whiskey, wine, and great music.
Backpacker Magazine Get Out More Team Presentation
- May 23, 2013
- Address: 1601 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: Mast General Store
- Times: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Join us for a special presentation by Backpacker Magazine’s Get Out More Team, Randy and Sheri Propster. From packs, tents, poles, apparel and tips, Sheri and Randy provide trail-tested information to help you Get Out More. The team will be in the store beginning at 4 pm to answer your questions and their formal presentation will begin at 6:00 pm. For more information visit www.mastgeneralstore.com
Between the Springmaid Sheets
- May 23, 2013
- Location: South Carolina State Museum
- Address: 301 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: South Carolina State Museum
- Times: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm; Sunday 1 - 5 pm; Open Mondays for the month of December and Memorial Day through Labor Day 10 am-5 pm
The daring and controversial advertisements that rescued a struggling South Carolina textile business and made Springs Cotton Mills one of the giants of the industry are examined in this fascinating art exhibit. Through dozens of works of art, original illustrations and advertisements, museum guests will learn the story of dashing Col. Elliott Springs, a World War I flying ace. Springs inherited his father's textile mill in 1931 and used racy images, innuendo-laced text and savvy business moves...
Blooming Butterflies
- May 23, 2013
- Location: Edventure
- Address: 211 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: EdVenture Children's Museum
- Times: Monday-Saturday: First entry is at 9:30 a.m. Last entry is at 4:30 p.m. Sunday: First entry is at 12:30 p.m. Last entry is at 4:30 p.m.
Come explore the world of the butterfly! Visit EdVenture's living exhibit, Blooming Butterflies, and explore the world of these fascinating insects! This 2,500 square foot exhibit is filled with dozens of species of trees and plants to showcase the lifespan of more than 20 species of butterflies native to the Southeast. Be sure to check out the Bloom Room and observe chrysalises and emerging butterflies. Admission is free with general museum admission.
Celebrating Teachers
- May 23, 2013
- Location: Columbia Museum of Art
- Address: 1515 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: Columbia Museum of Art
- Times: Tuesday - Friday 11 am - 5 pm; Saturday 10 am - 5 pm; Sunday Noon - 5 pm
South Carolina Future Minds recently hosted an inaugural contest, "Celebrating Teachers" and encouraged elementary, middle and high school students from around the state to submit their artwork. A team of judges narrowed the submissions to the top 30 and Haylee Bush, a third grader at Boiling Springs Elementary won the most online votes during the contest. The top entries, featuring drawings, photographs, prints, collages and paintings are on view in the Interactive Education Gallery. ...
Civil War in 3D
- May 23, 2013
- Location: South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum
- Address: 301 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
- Venue: South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum
- Recurrence: Recurring weekly on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
- Times: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm; First Sunday 1 - 5 pm
Back by demand after the museum's popular World War I in 3D, this exhibit will showcase Civil War images as they were meant to be seen using 3-D technology and a large, flat screen TV! Visitors will also learn about the political and social importance of photography during the war and why it almost undermined the Northern war effort.
Early Adventures: Dirt Diggers
- May 23, 2013
- Address: 1403 Richland Street, Columbia, SC
- Recurrence: Recurring daily
- Times: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Join us this May-June for our Early Adventures program. We will be learning about archaeology this month as we visit the Mann-Simons Site. See the “Ghost Structures” that outline where building once stood and see some of the artifacts that were recovered during an archaeological dig that took place on this property. Participants will take part in activities like Pottery Re-fit and enjoy their own edible “dirt”. Our Early Adventures program is designed for private groups...
