2nd Annual Children's Chance Wine Tasting & Silent Auction: The Medallion Center

Thursday November 10, 2011

Join Children's Chance for the 2nd Annual Children's Chance Wine Tasting & Silent Auction tonight to benefit children with cancer in South Carolina!

This signature fall event features wonderful Wine Vendors with over 100 varieties of wines, Food Vendors including Sakitumi, Dupre Catering & Events, Travinia Italian Kitchen, and a Chef from Bi-Lo, Desserts by Papa Smoke, Silent Auction items including roundtrip tickets from Southwest Airlines, 2nd Honeymoon Packages, Jewelry by Artizan, original artwork by local artists, Sports memorabilia, Antiques, a week stay in Williamsburg, a Dollywood Getaway in Pigeon Forge, and more!

Tickets are just $40 per person or $70 per couple in advance! Visit www.childrenschance.org to purchase or find out more!

Dixie Swim Club: Workshop Theatre

Friday November 11, 2011 - December 3, 2011

Five Southern women, a story spanning 33 years…what tales they have to tell! Join the folks at Workshop Theatre to eavesdrop on their conversations during four of their weekends together. It all began in the college swimming pool when the five women became the Dixie Swim Club. Their friendship continued long after graduation, and they set aside a long weekend every August to be together. Free from husbands, children and jobs, this is truly a "girls' weekend," a chance to reconnect and recharge. The Dixie Swim Club is set in a beach cottage on North Carolina's Outer Banks. As their lives unfold and the years pass, these women increasingly rely on each other, through advice and raucous repartee, to get through the challenges (men, sex, marriage, parenting, divorce, aging) that life flings at them.

Visit the Workshop Theatre website for all the fun details!

Veterans Day Parade: Downtown Columbia

Friday November 11, 2011

Veterans Day is more than just a day off work. Come out and show your appreciation for our men and women of military service. The 33rd Annual Veterans Day Parade will be held Friday, November 11, 2011 at 11 a.m. (Sumter Street) and honors all who served. View the poster.

The White Panda: Township Auditorium

Friday November 11, 2011

The White Panda formed when two boyhood friends discovered they had independently embarked on mashup careers in college. Chicago-based Procrast (Tom Evans) and DJ Griffi (Dan Griffith) Together they launched The White Panda in 2009 with a single that topped internet radio charts days later. Critics lauded the guys as pure sonic collagists for accelerating the reverberating nature of contemporary pop music. By harnessing the sounds of the moment before they become everyday tunes, the White Panda changed—and changes—the way listeners grasp the musical landscape. “Mashup Mondays” are the group’s signature release style, putting out a new track almost every week for their fans. All of Panda’s music, from their first track to their most recent, is available for free download on their website. For ticket info, visit the Township website.

Lexington Fall Art Crawl: Downtown Lexington

Friday November 11, 2011

Studio 112, M Gallery and Cafe Chartier will host this event from 6:00-9:00 pm. Local artists from the Lexington and Columbia area will display artwork at these locations, and be available to discuss their artwork on display. Get a jump-start on your holiday shopping by purchasing artwork for that special person on your holiday gift list. Cafe Chartier will prepare tasty delights at all three locations.
112 East Main Street (Studio 112)
711 E Main St (M Gallery and Cafe Chartier)

Visit the Art Crawl's Facebook page for information.

Body Detectives: EdVenture Children's Museum

Saturday November 12, 2011

Dive deep into the science and systems of the human body! Through simulated body scans, interaction with 3D models and analysis of the human body, you’ll uncover the mysteries of how our bodies work. Explore your ‘inner scientist’ in The Body Investigations Lab and study the prevention of chronic diseases in The Body Detectives Lab. Let the investigation begin on November 12th! Visit the EdVenture website for details!

Salute to the Troops Holiday Parade and Santa Arrival: Village at Sandhill

Saturday November 12, 2011
The parade to welcome Santa and honor our nation’s military and their families will kick off the holiday season at Village at Sandhill on Saturday November 12 at 8:00a.m. Military, civic, and community organizations from the area including the Columbia Fire Department as well as Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and representatives from the Richland County Sheriff’s motorcycle, horse-mounted, and K-9 patrols are scheduled to participate. Ft. Jackson will be providing the color guard for the event. The Celebrate Freedom Foundation®, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating children, promoting lasting patriotism and honoring the military—past, present and future, is scheduled to have its US Army half-track and helicopter on display. The American Red Cross will be on hand near “Santa’s Village” to conduct the “Holiday Mail for Heroes” campaign. Non-perishable food items will be collected in the Super Bi-Lo parking area at Village at Sandhill as we “Fill the Mayflower” in a Thanksgiving food-drive to benefit Harvest Hope Food Bank. Carolina Records & Management will offer free document shredding near “Santa’s Village” from 8:00 a.m. to Noon with the donation of a new and unwrapped gift for the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots. Come out and help the Village ring in the holiday season! More information at the Village at Sandhill website.

Food, Fashion and Fun: Historic Columbia Foundation’s 50th Anniversary!

Sunday November 13, 2011

Come experience an afternoon of Food, Fashion and Fun in honor of Historic Columbia Foundation’s 50th Anniversary! Festivities include:
• The debut of a new exhibit at the Robert Mills House & Garden.
• Ongoing tours of each of our historic house museums, highlighting the food historically enjoyed at each property and the games and activities played. Fashion highlights will also be included at several of the properties.
• A street fair along Blanding Street will include food and craft vendors.
• Family fun includes a scavenger hunt, magician, and old fashion games, such as hoop and stick, croquet, and hula hoop.
• Join us for the cake walk and make a craft!
• Demonstration artists will discuss a variety of topics, including quilting and butter churning.
• Bring a small item for inclusion in our special anniversary time capsule!
More details at the Historic Columbia Foundation website.

The Rock & Worship Road Show: Colonial Life Arena

Sunday November 13, 2011

"The Rock and Worship Roadshow” is in the height of their Fall 2011 tour hitting Columbia on November 13 with a line-up that includes MercyMe, Jars of Clay, Disciple, Hawk Nelson, Matt Maher and Group 1 Crew. Talented rapper Trip Lee along with other artists will serve as the pre-show entertainment. Admission is $10 at the door; no tickets necessary. Visit the Colonial Life Arena website for show details.

Gone but Not Forgotten Run/Walk: Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center

Sunday November 13, 2011

Honoring fallen Firefighter Chance Zobel, Chief Mike Sonefeld of the Irmo Fire District and Chief Aubrey Jenkins of the Columbia-Richland Fire Department announced the Gone But Not Forgotten 5K Run/Walk to honor firefighters who have lost their lives while serving their communities. The run will be held Sunday, November 13th at 2 p.m. To register go to: www.strictlyrunning.com.

Blues, Brews & BBQ: SC State Farmers Market

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

A benefit for the Columbia Family Shelter. Tickets: $10 student/military; $20 adults; Kids 8 & under are FREE.
All tickets include meal (local BBQ, green beans, mac & cheese, wings, pasta salad, etc). Iced tea and Lemonade are available free of charge. Beer, generously provided by Flying Saucer, and wine are paid for separately. Kid friendly events include face painting, a SPECIAL USC VISITOR, and corn hole!

A Silent Auction will be held at the event with prizes that include a one week stay in Myrtle Beach; Hotel Stays; Ballet Tickets; Giftcards; Artwork and Much MUCH more!

Visit the Family Shelter website.Visit the Blues, Brews & BBQ Facebook page.

Recommended Restaurant: Mudbones Swamp Shack

You know how once in a while you find a really good restaurant and you want to tell everyone you know about it? If you try this place, you'll be telling everyone you know about it too! It's a little hard to find (here's a map) - it's next to BiLo in Irmo on Broad River Road. The owner's name is Lisa, and this super-friendly chatty little proprietor sure does know how to cook. She left her past as an accountant behind and opened up this fun little place with a swamp mural on the wall and Spanish moss hanging from little colored lights criss-crossing the room. Her tagline is "Cajun, Creole & Southern Grubbin'" but her food is much more than that. Whether you're going for a simple seafood entree like Large Shrimp (biggun's fresh from the coast) or a Cajun classic like Chicken & Sausage Gumbo, this is some of the best food you'll put away - honest! Please order the handmade beignets (I am telling you they are better than those at Cafe du Monde in N'awlins!) Reasonable prices, fresh delicious foods, really really nice people! Open 11am - 10pm Mon-Thurs and 11am - 11pm Fri-Sat (closed Sunday) Go!

Visit the Mudbones Swamp Shack website.

Make Your Reservation! Tribute to Women in Industry Luncheon

Wednesday November 16, 2011

The TWIN Award is a distinguished honor presented to women whose outstanding achievements mark them as leaders and role models in business and in the community. Since the inception of the TWIN Awards in 1980, over 480 businesswomen have been honored who have made outstanding contributions to their professions and/or community. Held at the Columbia Marriott downtown. For ticket info visit the Palmetto Center for Women website.

16th Annual Chuck Larsen Live & Silent Auction: DoubleTree by Hilton

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Please join the Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce for one of its most exciting nights of the year! Fabulous items up for auction - bid on jewelry, vacations, restaurant gift cards, electronics, theatre tickets, sports memorabilia - and walk away with some fantastic buys! Silent and live auction!

DoubleTree by Hilton at 2100 Bush River Road, Columbia
Tickets: $25 - Single, $40 - Couple Silent Auction begins at 5:30pm and Live Auction begins at 7:30pm.

Visit the Greater Irmo Chamber website for info.

Vista Lights: Congaree Vista

Thursday November 17, 2011

Vista Lights offers an great way to kick-off the holiday Season. Kick off your holiday shopping and fun at the Vista's 26th annual holiday street party. Click through to check out a list of the restaurants and shops that will be in attendance for Vista Lights 2011! Visit the Vista Guild's site for details.

Fabulous Ongoing Events, Upcoming Events, News and Special Offers!

August Osage County: Trustus Theatre

Now Onstage!

Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award. A vanished father. A pill-popping mother. Three sisters harboring shady little secrets. When the large Weston family unexpectedly reunites after Dad disappears, their Oklahoman family homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets. Mix in Violet, the drugged-up, scathingly acidic matriarch, and you've got a major new play that unflinchingly—and uproariously—exposes the dark side of the Midwestern American family. This show will leave you breathless as it unfolds before your eyes! Shows at Trustus Theatre in the Vista on Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Friday & Saturdays at 8:00 PM, and Sundays at 3:00 PM. Tickets Prices: Thursdays $20 Fridays & Saturdays $22.50 Sundays $17.50

Forever Plaid Presents Plaid Tidings: Town Theatre
Now - Saturday November 19, 2011
This show is dedicated to the “good guys”; to the guys who wheeled the projector carts for the AV club; to the guys who saved their allowance to give their parents a special night on the town for their anniversary; to the guys who carried an extra handkerchief; to the guys who never went beyond first base, and if they did, they didn’t tell anyone. We salute you! Created after 9/11 when we all needed a little joy and a little cozy holiday fun to lift spirits and with the ensuing years bringing joys and tribulations for our world, our country and our loved ones, Plaid Tidings will put you in the mood to appreciate all the good stuff that is always around us! For dates and ticket info visit the Town Theatre website.

Mini Warehouses: West Columbia

Do you need storage for personal items or for your business? I just visited a super convenient storage facility off Sunset Boulevard (US 378) between I-20 and I-26. It's on Cromer Road just a block off Sunset. The gated facility is open to tenants 24/7 and has management onsite from 8am - 5pm, Monday - Friday. 10' ceilings in all 222 units as well as electric lights and security cameras. The new owner, Rick Riley, showed me around and explained his plans for the future of this business... exciting and well-planned. If you are looking for truly convenient space at a great price, give Rick a call at 356-0634.

The 44th Annual Columbia Gem & Mineral Show: Jamil Temple
Friday November 18, 2011 - Sunday November 20, 2011

This wonderful show features an enormous variety of materials from rough and cut gemstones, beads, fossils, finished jewelry, wire wrapping, lapidary supplies, and excellent mineral specimens. Dealers carry amber, jade, gold, all precious gemstones, and several jewelers can complete special orders, and much, much more. In addition, the Columbia Gem & Mineral Society will have geodes from Mexico that will be for sale at the entrance to the Jamil Temple. We will let you select and we will cut the geode for you. They may contain quartz, amethyst, smoky quartz, or calcite. We will also have a salted mine where for $1.00 a scoop, you can find crystals, fossils, rocks and minerals. You can “dig” for treasures that the Gem club provides. We can tell you where the minerals and treasures came from. Fun for rock enthusiasts, kids of all ages and those looking for unique holiday gifts. For details, visit the Columbia Gem & Mineral Society website.

Through Fiery Trials: Religion in the Civil War | South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum
Now - May 12, 2011
Thanksgiving Day is a day we set aside to give thanks to almighty God for all He has blessed us with. What a perfect time of year to visit the Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum during their special exhibit - Through Fiery Trials: Religion in the Civil War. An estimated 3,694 Union and Confederate chaplains served during the Civil War with an estimated 150,000 Confederate conversions or baptisms during the war and a similar number of revivals on the Union side. “Through Fiery Trials” examines the experiences of chaplains, soldiers and citizens while challenging guests to assess the similarities in the role that religion played for both Northerners and Southerners during the War. The exhibit highlights Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish faiths and features rare religious objects owned by some of the most storied figures from the war. Among the exhibit’s items are bibles that belonged to generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, a crucifix carried into battle by general George Pickett of the famous Pickett’s charge, a Jewish sweet meat bowl and a soldier’s bible that was struck by a bullet and has the resulting hole through it and much more. Visit the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum's website for more information.

The Colonial Cup: Families, Tradition, Fun
Saturday November 19, 2011

The Colonial Cup is an annual event, this year held on November 19, 2011 in Camden at the Springdale Race Course.This event is all about families, with special Infield activities like Jack Russell Terrier Races, and the very special “Saluting Our Military” celebration. Arrive Early because the Infield events start at 9:30 am and the special Pre-Race Show (Carolina Skydiving Team, Official Swearing In Ceremony of US Army recruits by the Commanding General of Ft Jackson, patriotic songs) starts at 11:00 am. We are giving away 3,000 free general admission tickets and 500 Infield Reserved Parking spaces to our military, active and reserved, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Visit the Colonial Cup webpage for detailed information.

Nature and the Grand American Vision: Masterpieces of the Hudson River School Painters: Columbia Museum of Art
November 19, 2011 - April 1, 2012

During the second quarter of the nineteenth century, a loose-knit group of artists and writers — who collectively became known as the “Hudson River School” — forged the first American landscape vision and literary voice. That vision, still widely influential today, saw the natural world as a source of spiritual renewal and an expression of an emerging national identity. It was first expressed through the majestic scenery of the Hudson River Valley. Nature and the Grand American Vision explores the evolution of the Hudson River School through four thematic sections. Within these groupings, we see how Thomas Cole and his followers visually conveyed powerful ideas and ideals about nature, culture, religion, and history to a fledging Republic, one still searching for a collective national identity. For more on this extraordinary exhibition, visit the Columbia Museum of Art website.

Carolina Ballet's THE NUTCRACKER
Save the Dates! November 25 & 27, 2011

Join us for the return of Carolina Ballet's THE NUTCRACKER to its home at THE TOWNSHIP AUDITORIUM! This enchanting seasonal fairytale, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet THE NUTCRACKER, has become a must see holiday tradition with families and audiences year after year. Selected as the BEST in Columbia. The Nutcracker features dancers, both pre-professional and professional, from all over the region including the Carolina Ballet Senior, Junior and Apprentice Ensembles, as well as Eriberto Jimenez and JImmy Moon. Putting together their magic, Mimi Worrell, Artistic Director, and Joulia Moisseeva, Ballet Mistress, as well as Eriberto Jimenez, McCree O’Kelley, Jessica Stroupe and Keith Mearns, have staged this ballet with shimmering snowflakes, waltzing flowers and an enchanted nutcracker creating a performance that leaves you believing dreams do come true! Visit the Carolina Ballet website for all information.

Festivus: Five Points
Friday December 2, 2011 - Sunday December 4, 2011

It is finally everyone's favorite time of year again - FESTIVUS!

§ Friday, Dec. 2nd - Airing of Grievances Tour from 7-10 pm - Tour 12 bars, sample beers of the season and air your grievances!

§ Saturday, Dec. 3rd - Festivus Shopping & Art Tour from 4-8 pm - FREE - Enjoy local artists paired with local merchants, sample sweet treats and Van Gogh Vodka specialty cocktails!

§ Sunday, Dec. 4th - Festivus Family & Shopping Day from 11-5 pm - FREE - Enjoy amazing deals and trunk shows in our local stores, get your picture taken with Santa, complimentary gift wrapping at the fountain, and flash mob carolers!

Visit the Five Points Association website for info!

Christmas in Cayce
December 1, 2011 - December 31, 2011

Cayce is a great place to get into the spirit of the Season at Christmastime! Free of charge, the City of Cayce and its residents welcome all to come and partake in the festivities:

Thursday, December 1 - 6:00 p.m.

§ 34th Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony: includes greetings from city officials, holiday thoughts, musical selections, and a visit from Santa.

§ The Lights of Cayce: Cayce City Hall complex and enjoy the magic of thousands of twinkling lights, dazzling holiday displays, and music of the season. New displays are added each year!

§ Cayce Neighborhood Tree Lighting: Each participating neighborhood will line their streets with lighted trees and decorations giving you a ride through a fantasy “winter wonderland.”

Friday, December 2: 6:30 p.m.

§ NEW! - Caroling Along the Cayce Riverwalk: several area church choirs will be located throughout the first half mile of the park. Visitors can wander from choir to choir enjoying holiday musical selections. The Riverwalk will be lighted with luminaries and hot apple cider will be served free of charge.

Saturday, December 3 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

§ Christmas Traditions | Cayce Historical Museum Annual Holiday Open House: Each room of the Museum will be decorated with trees and crafts from the 18th century to present. The Open House will also feature live entertainment, docents dressed in period attire, and light refreshments. The War Between the States living history encampments will be on display as well.

§ War Between the States Lantern Tours
As darkness falls, scenes from the great American war come to life. History and comedy make this event a memorable and popular activity.

All details are available at the City of Cayce website.

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