A Beer Mile, a musical and a 30-year-old movie among offbeat Columbia events, March 24-30

Thursday

‘A SPIRIT OF PLACE’

More than 100 significant buildings have graced the University of South Carolina campus, many of them named for individuals with a historic connection to the university or the state. “A Spirit of Place: USC’s Buildings and Their Namesakes” explores some of these buildings and artifacts. Highlights include William Preston’s cane, mourning jewelry from the family of James Petrigru, doorknobs from Caroliniana Library, and a veil block from the Honeycombs.

Friday

CMA JAZZ ON MAIN

This series at the Columbia Museum of Art is a great way to unwind after a busy week, with jazz performances under the artistic direction of band leader Noel Freidline.

BE DAZZLED

The Harlem Globetrotters’ world-famous team of basketball players celebrates its 90th anniversary world tour. A star-studded roster will have fans on the edge of their seats to witness the ball-handling wizardry, basketball artistry and one-of-a-kind family entertainment that thrills fans of all ages.

Saturday

1865 BATTLE AT CONGAREE CREEK GUIDED WALKING TOUR

This 2-mile, hourlong guided walking tour includes stops that feature the history of the 1865 battle, as well as soldier and civilian accounts of what happened during the burning of Columbia.

SOUTH CAROLINA BEER MILE

Four beers, four laps: Beer Mile! The South Carolina Beer Mile is a charity race to benefit Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands, held in conjunction with Soda City Suds Week, which ends its run on Saturday, March 26.

Sunday

30TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING OF ‘HOOSIERS’

The Nickelodeon Theatre is celebrating March Madness with a 30th-anniversary screening of “Hoosiers.” A coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small-town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the championship. The film is based on a true story.

SUNRISE SERVICE

Happy Easter! The 25th annual sunrise service is on tap at the park on the south side of the Lake Murray dam. Bring a chair or sit in your car; seating also is available.

Monday

NIKKY FINNEY’S FILM SERIES: ‘WOLF’

The final in the Nickelodeon’s March film series with Nikky Finney, a National Book Award-winning poet. Each film explores the characters’ search for and definition of freedom. “Wolf” is the story of a family, already strained by economic insecurity, losing a source of stability when they learn that a son was molested – while the son struggles to understand what he feels for his abuser. Vividly drawn and acutely felt, “Wolf” wrestles with the troubling afterlife of trauma.

TASTING NOTES

If you’re a wine lover and you’ve got some extra money for a splurge, consider the S.C. Philharmonic fundraiser Tasting Notes, pairing 50 high-end wines from around the world with gourmet foods from 18 Midlands restaurants, among them Motor Supply Co. Bistro, Gervais & Vine, Bourbon Columbia, Travinia Italian Kitchen Northeast and more. Live music and a car display also are on tap.

Tuesday

‘PAT CONROY: A RETROSPECTIVE’

Just one week left to catch the first major exhibit of the recently acquired Pat Conroy Collection at the University of South Carolina. Visitors will be greeted by a large poster, suspended from the ceiling, once used to promote the S.C. author’s first novel, “The Great Santini.” An exhibit case dedicated to the writing and publishing of “The Great Santini” shows how the book and movie forever changed Conroy and his family. The exhibit fills 14 display cases and includes numerous photographs, manuscripts, first-edition books, screenplays, scrapbooks, correspondence, posters and book art and other illustrations.

‘HOW MUSIC TRANSCENDS THE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT’

Jody Graves, who will offer a guest artist lecture, maintains a performing career and is recognized nationally as a distinguished artist and teacher of piano. She has toured in the Persian Gulf, serving as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. State Department. Her work in the Middle East has continued over the past 10 years, and in 2010 she was a judge for the National Palestinian Piano Festival in Jerusalem.

Wednesday

‘MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL: THE SURVIVOR TOUR’

“Menopause The Musical: The Survivor Tour,” benefiting Susan G. Komen Foundation, is coming to Columbia, after a cancellation last fall because of October’s floods. The show is set in a department store, where four women at a lingerie sale have nothing in common but a black lace bra – and memory loss, hot flashes, night sweats and sex problems. Singing along to classic tunes from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, the cast forms a sisterhood with the audience. With a cast of breast cancer survivors and co-survivors, “Menopause The Musical” and the foundation partner to offer inspiration, sisterhood and hope. Tickets purchased for the Oct. 4 performance will be honored (contact the box office).