Things to do in Columbia, SC this weekend?
August 30, 2016 9:04 AM   Subscribe

Things to do, places to see, where to eat. We're doing the zoo. What else?

We live at the beach so we're doing a reverse Labor Day weekend and going inland. We're staying at the Sheraton downtown. The Riverbanks Zoo is on the agenda. What else shouldn't be missed?

We have a 5-year-old and a dog, so anything that would be good for at least the first and ideally both will be awarded extra points.
posted by rabbitrabbit to Travel & Transportation around Columbia, SC (7 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
There are Fireflies baseball games with fireworks Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights, if you're up for leaving the pooch at the Sheraton. You can get the cheap berm tickets and bring a scratchy car blanket.

Also, if you stay Friday night, when you come out the hotel on Saturday morning you will notice the Soda City market in full swing with food, buskers, crafts, and lots of friendly dogs.

The Riverfront Park is a popular and pleasant spot to walk the dog and the kid although it's unshaded most of the day.

If you guys like beer, the Flying Saucer is a short walk from your hotel and has a dog friendly porch. You could detour through the capital grounds, which are pretty. The whole area to your immediate southwest along Gervais Street is called the Vista and has all your restaurants/bars/shops, although there are some right close to your hotel too.

The Free Times will have some updated events and concerts when it comes out tomorrow.

If you have any thoughts about what kind of food you'd like I'm happy to make suggestions, and if you have any questions at all when you're in town please don't hesitate to MeMail, I can give you the unfiltered scoop if you hate trying to parse Yelp reviews as much as I do.
posted by ftm at 9:42 AM on August 30, 2016


How about Edventure Children's Museum? I've never been, but I've heard good things!
posted by jhope71 at 10:16 AM on August 30, 2016


Even though I'm not a huge fan of bluegrass, I did really enjoy a show at Bill's Music Shop & Pickin' Parlor
posted by Wobbuffet at 10:21 AM on August 30, 2016


Oh, something you could do with the dog too: the Horseshoe at USC has interesting old buildings, and it's a short walk from there to the State House. I don't know if it's been fenced off, but at one point you could reach out and spin one of the stars on the State House wall that marks where it was hit by Sherman's cannon fire.
posted by Wobbuffet at 10:32 AM on August 30, 2016


Eat at least once at the Blue Cactus Cafe. I'm sort of drooling just thinking about it... #FormerResident
posted by gemmy at 6:25 PM on August 30, 2016


There is a dog-friendly coffee shop called Drip in the Five Points area (don't go to the one near the state house, it'll be full of college students). They have very good coffee and food, and there is a gelato shop next door.

Edventure is cool, but I had a lot of fun going to the main state museum as a kid (same parking lot). There are some scary mannequins on the top floor though.
posted by Maecenas at 10:00 PM on August 30, 2016


The Monetta Drive-in movie theater is relatively not far from Columbia and could be fun. I'm always a sucker for a drive-in but YMMV.
posted by Hal Mumkin at 4:58 AM on August 31, 2016


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