Like most of its citizens, most of the United State’s favorite holiday traditions immigrated here long ago. The Germans brought us the Christmas tree, the Gaelic tradition of Samhain morphed into Haloween and the French that colonized Louisiana gave us Mardi Gras. Saturday, Krewe de Columbia-Ya-Ya, Columbia’s first Mardi Gras krewe, brings their favorite beaded spectacle to the Midlands with their third annual parade down Rosewood Drive.
The parade, which starts at noon and will last until 1:30 p.m., will head out from City Roots farm and traverse through the surrounding Rosewood area from South Holly Street to South Edisto Street. When the multicolored masses return to City Roots, the real party will begin, featuring a lineup of over twenty local acts and food trucks and local catering galore.
Seriously, I can’t emphasize how great the food and music will be. Can’t Kids, Fat Rat da Czar, Reggie Sullivan Band, The Mobros, The Royal Tinfoil, Bone-In BBQ, Pawley’s Front Porch burgers… I can’t list everything without risking my head exploding or uncontrollable drooling, so check out the full music lineup here and all of the food vendors here.
City Roots is located at 1005 Airport Blvd. in Columbia. Tickets to the events are $10 and are available at the City Roots gate. All proceeds benefit The Animal Mission. Patrons can park at Memorial Stadium, Owens Field Park and on Commerce Drive. For more information, call Tom Hall at (803) 767-5305.
