Since the pandemic, so many great events have come and gone that have largely been ignored by Marion Countians. But on Saturday, the tide finally turned.
It has been disheartening to cover local events in Marion County since we returned to normalcy following the pandemic. We have showed up to cover so many events, including the Summer Concert Series, Bark in the Park, Makers and Mudbugs and several more in downtown Columbia, only to find 100 or 200 people in attendance. We have covered events with less than 10 people even.
It hasn’t made much sense. Prior to the pandemic, the one thing you could always count on in Columbia and Marion County is people were always going to show up. It never mattered if it was scorching hot or a rain shower in the forecast. Our community showed up. But in recent years, it has felt like that sense of community that so many in Marion County hang their hat on has dwindled.
There were so many things going on in Marion County on Saturday all day — the Columbia-Marion County Fly-In, Friendship Park’s grand opening, a rodeo, a balloon release, playoff games and a softball tournament — and it was mighty refreshing to see Marion Countians brave the heat to be there for all of it.
That great sense of community we always hang our hat on in Marion County has shown itself during the bad times in recent years. Any time there has been a tornado, a huge storm or an ill community member, the community has banded together. But it has been missing for so many good things.
We hope that Saturday was a sign of things to come. There are so many people in our community who work tirelessly to put these events on for all of us, and it’s time to get back out there and show that support for the good things, too.
