Organizers are looking at a reprise of the New Year’s Eve celebration in downtown Columbia after a start they consider highly successful.
“There’s definitely talk already of bringing it back next year, making it bigger and better,” said Sam Johnson, an aide to Mayor Steve Benjamin. “Columbia was hungry for something like this.”
The fete on Main Street drew a crowd that organizers estimated at 20,000 people, triple the level expected. No major crimes were reported as extra police patrolled the area.
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It attracted folks who typically stay home on a night known for parties.
“We decided to try and do something different,” teacher Audrey Andrieski said. “It was fun and we’re ready to go back.”
But the large crowd meant vendors ran out of food and drink early, Johnson said.
That failed to dim the revelry for some.
“They need to do this every year and I’ll come back every year,” said Rosalind Matthews of Powder Springs, Ga., who came with her aunt Betty Walker from Winnsboro, 40 miles north of downtown, to join the party.
The crowd was diverse – young, old, black, white, dressed up and dressed down. Other than right around the stage, there was plenty of room to stroll the street and sidewalks. A block away from the stage, people could have a conversation.
Music had a hard time keeping the crowd’s attention when fireworks from nearby Finlay Park began at 9 p.m. Saturday, with a second display shortly after midnight before the event on Main Street ended at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
The outcome “was definitely better than our expectations,” said attorney Charles Appleby, one of the organizers of the event.
Meanwhile, the party on the street didn’t slow down the party inside Mac’s on Main a few blocks north of the outdoor gathering.
Lots of passersby peeked in and got a taste of the music and dining the bistro offers, owner Barry A. Walker Sr. said.
“It brought a new liveliness to Main Street,” he said of a celebration arranged by business leaders and community groups. “It brought our area new attention that will pay off.”
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