On a Wednesday afternoon on Main Street, businessmen walk to work, nurses quietly make their way to the hospital and students grab a peaceful lunch and residents flow in and out of the Columbia Museum of Art.
Nickelodeon Theater’s birthday adds extra talent to weekly event
Come Thursday though, the downtown street becomes a loud and exciting celebration of the arts known as First Thursdays on Main.
The street’s businesses opened their doors Thursday night to display the arts of cooking, music, creating, painting and innovating. Compared to other First Thursdays in its four years, this week’s was one of the biggest yet.
In addition to the acoustic musicians, tastings and galleries, the Nickelodeon Theater celebrated its first birthday on Main Street and threw a party in the middle of the monthly event.
Their celebration featured drinks from The Whig, a $5 dunk tank, Pawley’s Front Porch’s food truck, a cake eating contest and live music.
“The Nickelodeon has a boutique quality we love to support,” said Todd Hicks, member of opening bluegrass band Mustache Brothers. “It’s something unique to Columbia.”
In the midst of the birthday celebration, the usual list of contributors like S&S Art Supply and Tapp’s Art Center participated in displaying local talent, but the addition of new supporters showed that art to Columbia is more than painting.
The weekly event included everything from crepes, vintage cars and actors to flower arrangements and baked good. Even the Statehouse opened its gallery to add to the big night.
“For a city this size, Columbia’s art scene is surprisingly great,” said David Campbell, a volunteer for S&S Art Supply. “Our local talents are something to be proud of.”
Campbell, who has worked many of the First Thursdays, said that despite negative comparisons to other cities, Columbia and USC have a host of notable talent.
“No one’s doing what these artists are doing,” said Eric Stockhard, S&S owner, as guests viewed a gallery of Jonathan Callicutt originals. “So we’re showing something that no one else is, making our scene even more unique.”
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