Breaking news for Columbia, Richland, Lexington SC (2024)

Behind the rainbow flags and queercore music, gay bars in Columbia face the same problems as their straight counterparts. But they have their own challenges, too.

When it comes to July 4 fireworks, it can be daunting to know which to pick. We rounded up a mix of paid and free options to enjoy on Independence Day.

Over the course of July, Five Points' popularPapa Jazz Record Shoppewill undergo two major interior renovations, requiring them to temporarily operate in the former Five Points Starbucks.

For the second year in a row, South Carolina native, Patina Miller commanded the audience on the White House South Lawn during its annual Juneteenth concert.

June 19 is Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the end of enslavement in the United States. In South Carolina, people are using it as an opportunity to celebrate with cities across the state hosting parades, festivals and educational events.

The reigning Miss America, Madison Marsh, is an active-duty Air Force soldier who researches pancreatic cancer. She wants to show people women's role in the military during her crowned tenure.

Sam McKinney, a 27-year-old contractor from Myrtle Beach, will star as a contestant on Season 21 of the ABC dating show "The Bachelorette." This will be his first time on the West Coast of the United States.

This year's Columbia Fashion Week is bringing the runways to the people with a streetwear runway show slated for The Vista's iconic Lincoln tunnel.

From its days as the SC Lunatic Asylum to its modern, luxury redevelopment plans, the Bull Street campus has a storied history many in South Carolina know about— do you?

Thanks to funding from a national nonprofit, the Columbia Museum of Art will offer free admission to South Carolina residents in a program called "Free Summer at the CMA."

Viral singer-songwriter Chappell Roan has tapped local drag talent to open for her Columbia tour stop on June 13. The queens say the effort to promote local talent will have a profound impact on the local scene.

Established in November 2023, directly following owner and founder Rebecca Dooley's graduation from Clemson University, ColaRitz Dress Rentals allows customers to rent casual, semi-formal and formal dresses for four-day periods.

Jody Pendarvis, the builder of the now-destroyed UFO Welcome Center in Bowman, is unsure if he will rebuild. The 73-year-old said that he's running low on savings and believes his age would prevent him from rebuilding, even if he had the money.

Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens opened 50 years ago after a decade of persistence (and a little help from a car wash tiger.) What's the zoo been up to since then, and what's in store for its next half-century?

Columbia has seen a sharp uptick in the number of indie booksellers opening storefronts in recent months. What's behind the trend?

Liberation is Lit, a specialty bookstore focused on diverse literature, is opening a Rosewood storefront using funds from a city nonprofit aimed at promoting artists and indie business owners.

A monthly concert series on Elmwood Avenue harkens back to the politically charged community that formed at The UFO, a coffeehouse that catered to progressives and former GIs in the 1960s and '70s.

USC women's basketball coach Dawn Staley took to Twitter Wednesday to thank megastar Beyonce Knowles-Carter for a congratulatory gift and note.

A USC class is putting together a Taylor Swift-themed party at Tin Roof, all in the name of a good cause.

Under the brand Notoriously Dapper, Columbia native Kelvin Davis has carved out a space for himself as a content creator, author and model, all with the hopes of inspiring body confidence in men.

While typically seen at markets like Soda City, Tayler Simon plans to build her e-commerce site into a physical location for book clubs, activist groups and community building.

Here's what you need to know ahead of this year's St. Pat's in five Points festival.

Columbia design brand, Twin Stitch, was featured last month on ABC's "Tamron Hall Show." Get to know the designer behind the elegantly maximal gowns, Roneisha Stark.

A year after Columbia removed it, the artist behind a 40-foot fire hydrant is skeptical the city will follow through with its plans. “They are artist bigots. They think they know what’s art and what’s not art and they didn’t think it was worthy.”

While Main Street and other roads are receiving more attention and interest, Sumter Street, which runs parallel to Main, lacks the same appeal. The city hopes to change that.

Body slams and elbow throws were a common sight at the Dumpster Fire Roller Derby Tournament in Columbia, SC, where teams came from across the country to compete.

From the Reconstruction era to the present, the South Carolina Military Museum is highlighting the contributions of Black veterans from the state to civil rights movements in the U.S. The exhibit will open on Feb. 23 and run through the end of June.

The minds behind Re-Find Vintage and the now-closed NOMA Warehouse are teaming up to launch a monthly night market at the antique shop's forthcoming Rosewood location.

It’s easy to criticize Columbia, it’s harder to do something about those criticisms. But if just one person decided they wanted to try to take a creative risk, they have a pretty good shot of doing it here.

This year's Mardi Gras Fest will honor its late-founder Tom Hall with commemorative posters and tokens, a memorial stage and a dedication to the party.

In an increasingly digital age, adult social groups in Columbia like Girls Who Walk and For The Girls offer a reprieve from the virtual limbo.

A Southern boy through and through, Hall represented the best of the contemporary progressive South. As comfortable on a horse and hunting in a field as he was behind a camera creating a history-altering independent film, Hall’s passion for taking big bodacious bites out of life was infectious and, as we can so easily see now, the stuff of legends.

The second-annual Black History Ball will feature a speech from MLK Jr. youth worker Rev. Chavis and TikTok rapper Van Van— all in the hopes of raising money for local scholarships and preserving the Gullah historical narrative in SC.

Shaq tops the bill for Hidden City Music Festival, which will be at the Historic Columbia Speedway in Cayce, as his alter ego,"DJ Diesel."

A soul-pop band and blues rock husband-and-wife duo are among the headliners for the 42nd annual St. Pat's in Five Points festival, which will feature dozens more bands and artists, including internet viral "Lil Boo Thang" rapper and singer Paul Russell.

The family of a 17-year-old girl and her grandfather who were killed in a drunken driving crash in September filed a lawsuit against Henry's of Cayce on Jan. 8, a day after the restaurant announced its impending closure, which owners attributed to rising liquor liability costs.

While the Cottontown business will close by month's end, the owners confirmed, NOMA Warehouse won't be going away completely.

Beloved SC band Sequoyah Prep School closed out decades of sold-out shows at New Brookland Tavern on State Street in West Columbia and welcomed crowds to the bar's new location on Harden Street in Five Points.

After the loss of key businesses in West Columbia's entertainment district, many are wondering where the small city across the Congaree River is headed.

The popular vintage and antiques mall is moving to South Edisto Street in the Rosewood neighborhood in early 2024, the owner confirmed.

Richland County Council voted to issue an $80 million bond for Riverbanks Zoo and Garden's expansion projects despite pleas to reconsider from Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann.

The Museum of York County has you covered with its first-ever "airing of the grievances" at their upcoming version of "Seinfeld's" Festivus.

This was a solid year for local theater, with most groups doing what they do best. But is that always the best choice, or just the safest? Free Times theater writer August Krickel looks back at the Midlands' theater scene.

Black Nerd Mafia's Kwasi Brown compiled a list of the best Black, independent artists creating in Columbia today for Free Times.

J. Marion Sims, a South Carolinian, is widely credited for creating the modern discipline of gynecology. J.C. Hallman's nonfiction book, “Say Anarcha,” casts a dark light on Sims' legacy through the eyes of the enslaved woman who is remembered as the test subject for many of his unethical and cruel experiments.

In 2021, USC’s then-President Bob Caslen asked the Board of Trustees to pen a letter to the General Assembly asking for a one-time exemption from the Heritage Act to rename Sims Hall— which the university refers to as "Women's Quad" on its website. Caslen's request was ignored.

USC in Columbia, SC will offer a class on global pop sensation Taylor Swift that will explore business, the music industry and the success of her Eras Tour.

Black Nerd Mafia hosts concerts, open mic nights and showcases to platform independent artists in Columbia— creating spaces downtown where they say there aren't many for persons of color who are creatives.

Palmetto State native Darius Rucker will join thousands of other stars on Hollywood Boulevard with his very own star.

Congaree National Park staff removed 18 feral hogs, which have become more comfortable hanging around humans, during a 24-hour shut-down of the park on Nov. 16.

One year after rejecting the proposal, a majority of Richland County Council members approved a first reading of an$80 million bond from Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

With a lifelong green thumb and decades of professional work, Jenks Farmer is an expert when it comes to gardening in the Midlands. He gives Free Times a few of his recommendations on how to become "plant people."

The Carolina House of Telfar is a kiki ballroom haus, a family of performers and artists who compete in the underground ballroom scene that's been a haven for queer folks for decades.

The Summer Camp Tour with Trucks will make one stop in the Palmetto State— and it's Soda City.