These events are back on the calendar around Columbia. Here’s how to enjoy them safely

As vaccinations roll out, more events and festivals are filling up the calendar in Columbia this spring.

While people are feeling more comfortable to gather in person or travel, health experts are still begging you to be safe.

“It’s not party time yet,” Dr. Danielle Scheurer, MUSC Health System chief quality officer said in a university article. “There will be a time and a place for relaxing broader restrictions, but we just need to tough it out for a few more months. Look, I get it, social distancing can be hard sometimes. But wearing a mask is not.”

New guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control this week say that fully vaccinated people can: visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing, visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing and refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic.

However, the CDC also said “all people, regardless of vaccination status, should adhere to current guidance to avoid medium- or large-sized in-person gatherings,” and those attending should still wear a “well-fitted” mask. The City of Columbia still requires masks to be worn in public after extending the mask ordinance for another 60 days on Tuesday.

Along with events, tourism is expected to recover in South Carolina because of coronavirus case numbers falling and a possible end to the pandemic in sight. Charleston Tours and Events has already seen positive signs that tourism will pick up this spring.

“We always field a lot of inquires during this time of the year, and we are seeing an uptick in phone calls as the vaccination continues to roll out,” said Drew Yochum, Charleston Tours & Events vice president of sales and marketing. “Charleston is seeing a tourism surge as we get into March and spring break season.”

While some events were already canceled out of precaution, like the St. Pats in Five Points festival, here are some large, annual events happening around Columbia this spring:

Artista Vista

The annual art festival in Columbia’s Vista district is scheduled for April 16-18 with in-person and virtual events. Four of the five events are free to the public. For more information and tickets, visit the event website.

A face covering and social distancing are required at all of the events and hand sanitizer stations will be set up at every venue. The COMET’s Soda Cap Connector buses will be available and free to use for transportation to and around the Vista for the weekend.

“Creativity drives The Vista, and over the past year our business owners have drawn on that creativity to overcome challenges presented by COVID-19,” says executive director of the Congaree Vista Guild, Abby Anderson. “We are thrilled to offer a fresh take on Artista Vista that celebrates our artistic roots, while protecting the community’s health and safety.”

Here are the five events:

Paper Lantern Creation Workshop: Artist Flavia Lovatelli will host this event online for participants to learn how to create paper lanterns at home and how to decorate your face masks. This is a free, family-friendly event that will be uploaded to YouTube in early April, according to event organizers.

Art Gallery Crawl: On Friday, April 16, from 5-9 p.m. galleries in the Vista and pop-up shops will be open for visitors to peruse.

Art Day: On Saturday, April 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Stormwater Studios campus, visitors can view art collections and live demonstrations for free. Live music from Amy & the Willie Wood Chips, drinks from Beverage South’s beer wagon and food from A Matter of Taste and Dupre Catering’s food trucks will be set up.

Crafty Feast: On Sunday, April 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., a craft festival will be set up outside at the corner of Lincoln and Lady Streets. Fifty vendors will be set up and there is no admission price this year. The first 250 visitors will get a free tote bag.

Live on Lincoln: The one ticketed event will be a series of performances and a plated dinner on Sunday, April 18, from 5 to 7 p.m. Blue Marlin will serve tables of up to four people dinner on the cobblestones of Lincoln Street. South Carolina Philharmonic, Columbia Classical Ballet, Columbia City Ballet, ColaJazz, Trustus Theatre, Town Theatre, Columbia Children’s Theatre, Bruch Chamber Orchestra, Opera at USC and the University of South Carolina Concert Choir will all perform. The proceeds will go directly to the participating organizations. Tickets are $280 for a table of four and $160 for a table of two.

Drink Pink Rosé Festival

The fifth annual rosé festival will be held on May 16 from 12 to 4 p.m. at the Hampton Preston Mansion in Columbia.

Chef Kristian Niemi of Bourbon and Black Rooster restaurants will be cooking three different types of paella for guests. Rosé tastings will be served from 6 to 10 p.m. with over 100 different Rosé wines available.

A cheese tasting table will feature Christian Hansen from Blue Ridge Creamery. Local vendors, live music and a wine store will be set up. Guests will receive a free wine glass.

Tickets range from $65 to $100 for the event. VIP tickets will include 30 minutes early entry to tastings, a private seating area, bottle service, grazing table spread and a gift bag.

Carolina Cup steeplechase

The 86th Carolina Cup horse racing event in Camden will be on May 22. Last year’s race was scheduled for March, but was canceled because of COVID-19. This year, the South Carolina tradition of colorful outfits, big hats and a huge outdoor tailgate will continue.

In March 2020, Kershaw County, where the Carolina Cup is held, was the epicenter of the pandemic outbreak in South Carolina. The annual event can draw up to 70,000 people.

Those who bought tickets to last year’s Carolina Cup were able to receive a refund last year or roll their tickets over. Gates will open at 9 a.m. on race day and the horses will post at 1 p.m. General admission tickets range from $30 to $45. Parking, lunch and box seating are available for additional costs.

Cola Concerts at the Columbia Speedway

For its inaugural year, the Cola Concerts venue had a rocky start after opening in the fall of 2020. The Columbia Speedway Entertainment Center postponed some of its concerts from starting in November to March because of bad weather, but it is coming back in April with a full line-up.

The outdoor concert and movie venue at 2001 Charleston Highway was designed with coronavirus safety in mind. Seating coves for up to 8 people allow visitors to socially distance while enjoying live shows. Masks must be worn when not in your designated seating cove and guests must buy 4 tickets at a time.

Here are the upcoming concerts:

April 1-4: Billy Strings concert

April 18 at 6 p.m.: Greg Gutfeld comedy show

April 23 at 7 p.m.: Blackberry Smoke and North Mississippi All Stars rock concert

April 25 at 6 p.m.: Winonna Judd concert

May 1 at 8 p.m.: Shovels and Rope concert

May 5 at 8 p.m.: Mt. Joy concert

Sept. 2 at 8 p.m.: Jason Isbell concert

Rosewood Crawfish Festival

Since 2005, the annual Rosewood Crawfish Festival has been an annual event in Columbia featuring live music, a 5k run, local artisans and thousands of pounds of crawfish. This year’s festival will be on May 1 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Advance tickets are $10 and children 12 or under can go for free. Ten thousand pounds of crawfish will be available for purchase this year. The event was canceled last year and event organizers said at the time that tickets bought in 2020 will be honored this year.

After gaining popularity in recent years, the Crawfish Festival was scheduled to move from Rosewood to the Fair Grounds last year. Organizers have not yet publicized a location for the event this year, but the website says it will have updates soon.

Monster Jam

The annual monster truck show at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia is scheduled for April 9, 10 and 11.

Tickets start at $20 and are on sale at coloniallifearena.com. The event is described as, “one of the first family events to open its doors to fans since the global pandemic began in 2020” on the venue’s website.

Pit passes are available for those who want to meet the drivers, see the trucks up close and get autographs. Face masks are required along with pod seating.

The truck lineup includes Megalodon driven by Adam Anderson, Grave Digger driven by Tyler Menninga, Bad Company driven by John Gordon, Slinger driven by Scott Hartsock, Xtermigator driven by Aaron Basl and FTI Torque driven by Jack Brown.

This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 2:43 PM.