The South Carolina State Fair starts Oct. 12 and runs through Oct. 23. (Photo courtesy of the South Carolina State Fair)
With the weather getting cooler and USC students getting ready for fall break, the upcoming week features a full schedule of events for Columbia residents.
The week starts with Indigenous Peoples Day, a federal holiday that celebrates Native Americans, and ends with concerts from some crowd favorites. Here’s a roundup for some highlights for the week of Oct. 10:
The annual State Fair is back starting on Oct. 12! The fair, held at the fairgrounds on Rosewood Drive, is a 12-day event that offers rides, circus performances and daily events such as sensory-friendly morning and awareness days highlighting military personnel and veterans and diabetic health. The fair, a nonprofit organization, gives back to the community by awarding scholarships to South Carolina students.
Ticket prices vary. Regular ride vouchers are $30, and general admission tickets are $10. The fair welcomes almost 500,000 people each year and allows people to be part of an almost 150-year tradition. More information can be found at scstatefair.org.
Famously Hot South Carolina Pride!
It’s Pride Week! Throughout the week, Columbia’s Famously Hot Pride will put on events to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community. The real party starts Friday at 7:30 p.m., and there will be a Get Lit Pride Parade starting on Laurel Street. Attendees are encouraged to wear colorful outfits and decorate their cars to show their pride. After that comes RuPaul’s Drag Racers and an afterparty at the Capital Club, a gay bar on Gervais Street. Saturday is the 33rd annual S.C. Pride Festival on Main Street, from noon to 10 p.m. The festival will feature musical talents and more entertainment.
The week also will feature more educational events, such as an advocacy workshop with local lobbyists on Tuesday at 7 p.m. On Wednesday, the Nickelodeon Theatre will show the movie United in Anger: A History of ACT UP, a documentary about the AIDS activist movement, at 7 p.m.
Colonial Life has two concerts this week. Pitbull and Iggy Azalea will be there on Wednesday at 8 p.m. for their Can’t Stop Us Now tour. Fans of Mr. Worldwide should expect some of his most memorable songs and some more recent works.
Post Malone also will perform with Roddy Ricch on Saturday at 8 p.m. as part of the Twelve Carat Tour, featuring his new album, Twelve Carat Toothache and songs from his past albums.
Ticket prices for the artists vary.
HUSH No More Domestic Violence Day
HUSH No More is an S.C. nonprofit organization that provides support for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse and sex trafficking. The Columbia-based organization gives survivors a place to tell their stories and to receive support from others. The organization is hosting an event for domestic violence prevention on Thursday at the State House. There will be guest speakers, resources and services to spread awareness about domestic violence from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Domestic violence, as described by the organization, is an epidemic that affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men.
