Vista Lights will ring in the holidays for the 34th year with shopping, music, dancing and the lighting of the Christmas tree in the Vista.
Abby Naas is the executive director of the Congaree Vista Guild, the membership-based nonprofit hosting the event. Naas is the main planner of the Vista Lights.
"It's the kickoff to the holiday season, but it's also a big open house for all of the businesses in the Vista," Naas said. "We have a lot of new businesses in the Vista that people may not be aware of, and it's a way for them to kind of show off what they do."
Naas said 10 to 15,000 people will attend the event this year for holiday shopping, discounts and fun. College students will enjoy this event, she said, even if they are on a budget.
"There's going to be a lot of giveaways at these tables. There's going to be a lot whether you're of drinking age or not," Naas said.
There will be free samples of shrimp and grits at Blue Marlin as well as free hot cocoa stations around the event. More free items and giveaways will be posted in Wednesday's edition of the Free Times, including a map of all of the places that are participating and what they will be doing.
Ryan Herald, a service manager at the Blue Marlin, said the restaurant has participated in Vista Lights for quite a few years now. Herald said the shrimp and grits are given out at their private dining facility, The Vista Room.
"Sometimes we've had a photo booth, sometimes we've had a VIP party, some cocktails," Herald said. "We always set up our Christmas lights for Vista Lights."
Over 60 businesses participate in Vista Lights, including coffee shops, restaurants, art galleries, CBD stores, barber shops and plumbing stores. One of the participating art galleries, Stormwater Studios, is using Vista Lights as the reception for their new show of artwork, themed "flight."
Gerard Erley, an artist at Stormwater Studios, said 10 artists will be participating in the event.
"Artists are doing various things. Some are doing birds, insects, people flying," Erley said.
This year will feature a 10-foot snow globe that people can enter for photo opportunities. Also, the Pastides Alumni Center is participating in the event for the first time and will be hosting Cookies and Cocoa with Cocky, where attendees can snap a photo with the beloved mascot.
Herald said the Vista has changed a lot in the roughly 25 years years since Blue Marlin set up shop. He said Vista Lights is an opportunity for new businesses to present themselves to the community and to bring in customers that may not have discovered them yet.
"Back then, there wasn't really much in the Vista; it was just an idea of what it could be. Publix wasn't there, and a lot of other buildings were really just warehouses waiting to be renovated and repurposed," Herald said. "But now with all of the many restaurants and the shops we have around, there's a lot more reason to come down here."
Vista Lights will also have a kid's zone area for families, which includes face painting, balloon artists, crafts and Santa. In addition, kid-friendly tables with different activities will be set up at Richland Library, the State Museum and Edventure. The Columbia Airport will also have a table set up for kids to decorate airplane ornaments and will be giving away blankets.
"A lot of people plan for this event every year," Naas said. "It gets the holiday season started."
Vista Lights will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. on Thursday. The Christmas tree lighting will take place at 7 p.m. on the corner of Gervais and Lincoln streets. The event is free to attend, and parking will be free at the City of Columbia garage at Lincoln and Washington streets as well as at the State Museum. A shuttle will take guests from the museum to Vista Lights.
A list of the different businesses and activities can be found here, and a map of the event can be found here.