As the leaves began to yellow and family and friends gather in warm homes to dine on turkey and dressing, we at Free Times reflect.
Growing up, my dad loved to ask everyone at the Thanksgiving table what they were most thankful for that year. In my teenage years, I occasionally answered with an eye roll and something generic. But, as I've gotten older, I've learned that it's cool to be grateful and it's cool to voice your appreciation for people and things you love.
And that's what we're doing here. There's a lot to be thankful for in Columbia and we think it's cool to voice that. HANNAH WADE
Nightlife and cultural events
Anyone who's met me knows that I'm a chatty Cathy, a veritable extrovert. And when I moved to Columbia this summer, I was so happy to find this is a city perfect for extroverts at every level of external energy. Whether it's a concert at Central Energy, dueling pianos at The Venue on Main Street, packed picnic tables outside of Art Bar or the cozy casualness of Curiosity Coffee, there has been so many spots to explore and meet people. Zoe Nicholson, Free Times managing editor
Friday the 13th tattoo flash
It might sound silly, but there is something so unifying and exhilarating about getting a Friday the 13th flash tattoo. As I sat in Drip Coffee one Friday the 13th this year, I overheard people at the bar talking about the flash options Sickle & Moon Tattoo was offering.
"What're you gonna get?" I asked them, while mulling the same question myself. As I waited outside of Sickle and Moon to have a small lightbulb permanently inked onto my arm, I chatted with a college student who'd stopped by before heading to her campus job. It's silly and cheap and fun — all words I'd use to describe my current stage of life, if I'm being honest. There are only a handful of shops around town that offer the flash sale when Friday the 13th comes around, and I respect the hell out of them for it. This year, for Friday, Oct. 13, the folks at Sickle and Moon probably tattooed for 12 hours straight. It's no doubt grueling, but I'm thankful there are shops around Columbia that offer it. Hannah Wade, Free Times food writer
Paisley and the Birdwalkers perform at Art Bar on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023
New, and old-New Brookland Tavern
I don’t remember the first time I set foot in New Brookland Tavern, but I’ll be dog-gone if I don’t remember the last. The State Street institution has fostered the flutter-beating heart of Columbia’s music scene for far longer than I’ve been able to legally order a dumpster fire, and yet it persists.
I’m thankful for the raucous nights, often violent, where I thrashed around in a crowd of people who were wholly united in the strange trance that only watching someone you love perform their guts out can evoke. I’m thankful for soft and soulful performances that helped to heal me, to teach me what I needed to know but couldn’t quite grasp yet. I’m thankful for the people who make it all real.
And I’m thankful for the opportunity to watch it be reinvented on Harden Street, and watch new stories become old all over again. Eden Prime, Free Times freelance writer
Side walks and the active voice
“You’re going to get yourself killed!” the elderly man raking leaves in his lawn yelled as I zipped by on my run on the other side of Trenholm Road.
There is no sidewalk on Trenholm between the intersections with Hagood and Belmont. It’s not that there’s simply no room for a sidewalk. There’s a lovely and little-used turn lane on the entire length of sidewalk-less Trenholm, because God forbid you have to stop for a moment while roaring down the road between Lake Katherine and Gervais.
Hence, sans sidewalk, I run on the tiny shoulder and occasionally in the lane along this section of Trenholm, because, as I angrily responded to the man, I pay for this road too.
But he had a point. A Ford F-150 weighs 4,705 pounds. I weigh 164 pounds. I will lose and lose badly.
A side note here. Why exactly do you need a pickup truck? What was the last thing you hauled, towed or lugged? When was the last time those tires tasted dirt road? You live in Forest Acres.
Returning to my central thesis, dear resident of Trenholm Road who did seem legitimately concerned with my safety, I must inform you, as my high school English teacher informed me many times, the passive voice is sloppy.
I believe what you intended to convey is not that “you’re going to get yourself killed!” suggesting that I am at fault when a RAV4 speeding back from the Whole Foods launches me skyward, but rather that “someone is going to kill you!”
So this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for sidewalks and the active voice. Alexander Thompson, Post and Courier State House reporter
Clothing designed by Alexander McQueen as part of the Columbia Museum of Art's exhibit on the designer and his lifelong collaboration with photographer Ann Ray. Fiona Schreier/Special the Post & Courier
Exhibits at the Columbia Museum of Art
I don’t think I fully appreciated the Columbia Museum of Art until this past year. I’ve walked through the permanent collection so many times, and only recently realized how incredible it is to have so much wildly versatile art at my fingertips. And of course, this year's exhibitions have been absolutely stellar. “Lee Alexander McQueen & Ann Ray: Rendez-Vous” has received lots of attention, and for good reason. The exhibition was an incredible, up-close look at a fashion icon's art. But my personal favorite was “Our Own Work, Our Own Way,” which brought together the work from so many incredible women artists that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise. I’m thankful that every time I visit, there’s always something new to see, something I didn’t understand before, or something that challenges me to explore the art, and the world around me, more deeply. Fiona Schreier, Free Times freelance writer
Lula Drake Wine Parlour. File/John A. Carlos II
Columbia's food scene getting national recognition
It might sound dramatic, or maybe even a tad corny, but I don't know if I'll ever forget calling Lula Drake owner Tim Gardner when the list of semifinalists was announced for this year's prestigious James Beard Foundation awards. Lula Drake was one of three in the city to be on the list, alongside Spotted Salamander's Jessica Shillato and City Grit hospitality group. It was the first time in Columbia's history restaurants from here had been nominated. I could hear Gardner's staff cheering in the background. Oftentimes, it's my job to remove myself from the news and not get involved, but it was so tough not to feel so much excitement for the three eateries. I never really saw myself going into food writing after college, but I'm glad I did and I'm thankful that the city I've grown to call home has finally started to get some recognition for the awesome things people here are doing. Hannah Wade, Free Times food writer
Outdoor art
There's Doctors Without Borders, but what about artists without walls? Post-COVID, outdoor events and performances have became more common, transplanting art from the stages and galleries to accessible neighborhood venues. Town Theatre now holds mini-concerts in Forest Acres' Pinetree Park every fall, Columbia Children's Theatre brought commedia dell'arte to West Columbia's Riverwalk Amphitheater this summer and SC Shakespeare did "Much Ado About Nothing" in Lexington's Icehouse Amphitheater. Cottontown's spring Art Crawl has become a booming, multi-disciplinary festival, inspiring similar events like Keenan Terrace Art in the Yard. I'm thankful for outdoor art. August Krickel, Free Times freelance writer
Much Ado about Nothing. Photo by David Frantz.
Old stuff in old buildings
One thing about me? I'm gonna antique. And Columbia has no shortage of places to find one man's trash. And there's a wide range of options. You can find affordable offerings at Red Lion near USC's campus or pick a show-stopper at Ivy House's two locations. Re-Find has the best curation of good for a mid-century modern-loving gal like myself. And the staff at every single one of these places is so helpful. And not to mention the clothes! There's a handful of vintage and consignment shops to check out — I'm a purist and love Sid & Nancy in Five Points — but the thrift shops like Goodwill near the VA Hospital and Goodwill in West Columbia are stellar. I'm thankful Columbia has these thrifty options — a reasonably affordable way to scratch my shopping itch. Zoe Nicholson, Free Times managing editor
South Carolina farmers
In the reporting that I've done this year, and even some at the tail end of 2022, I've come to appreciate the ways food makes it to my plate. It wasn't something I thought much about prior to taking this job, but in talking to local farmers and the folks from the SC Department of Agriculture, I feel really optimistic and excited about the future for farmers in our state. Between more restaurants putting an emphasis on utilizing locally-grown ingredients to places like the Farmers Market XChange from Toms Creek Family Farm that recently opened in the Vista, I'm thankful for the work and time that South Carolina farmers put in to helping keep our state fed. Hannah Wade, Free Times food writer
