The rain poured down late one night more than a year ago as a bunch of dreamers sat in front of a business on Main Street.
It was a Saturday night, and downtown was a ghost town. But this small group had dreams. Those dreams culminated in what was a great weekend in Columbia. Before the rains came, thousands of people looked at nearly 200 cars, browsed through more than 80 booths and vendors and sampled delicious barbecue while listening to great entertainment from several stages.
Back to that rainy night in front of Mark Carithers’ tattoo shop, however. That hearty bunch included many of the very folks who made this year’s (and last year’s) event happen. It’s a collection of businesspeople, car enthusiasts and quite simply a group of friends that I’ve come to know as family over the past several years.
I was invited to hang out with these folks nearly two years ago on a Saturday night. My late wife, Amelia, told them she agreed with their idea that Columbia needed a cruise-in or car show. The funny thing was that it started as an event that really wasn’t supported by the “traditional establishment.” Amelia had said for several years that we needed an event like that downtown. Last year she got to see it, thanks to these friends.
But this year’s event took everyone involved to make it great. Businesses large and small came together to make things happen. If you didn’t get a chance to see downtown, I hope you saw the pictures in Thursday’s paper. Columbia put on a marvelous show for residents and guests.
I was fortunate enough to be a part of the barbecue judging panel and met people from several states there. The officials of the competition loved Columbia and couldn’t believe the response from the people. Many of the competitors, even ones from as far away as Texas, have said they would come back. Likewise, many vendors deemed the event a success. Unfortunately for some, the storms damaged or destroyed inventory, but many out-of-town vendors, including food vendors, said they’d like to come back.
Like many, I wish the storms hadn’t come. I like to think that as many as 5,000 people would have packed downtown to hear the music and watch the fireworks.
Many people I talked to were down earlier in the day and planned to come back to visit for the music and fireworks, and of course, grab a bite to eat.
As the rains came, however, I witnessed the good side of people, too. I watched folks grab items from vendors and help them put them in their trucks and cars. I watched people sheltering children as the lightning lit up the skies. I saw police officers helping with traffic problems and sealing off flooded streets. I watched as Columbia firefighters assisted at scenes where trees were down and power was out.
For all of the bad in the world, I saw good things even under bad conditions.
Columbia put on a good show for itself and for the world on Saturday. Freedom Fest is a start, and there are so many good things happening. There are exciting plans for Bluff Street Park and so many other things that the mayor and board of aldermen would like to see.
Columbia turns 200 years old in 2019. The celebration could help entrench us among the places people want to visit on their trips to South Mississippi. Heck, our hotels filled up with visitors this past weekend. Imagine if something bigger were to happen.
So next time you see a couple of guys sitting on a bench watching the world go by on a Saturday night on Main Street, stop by and share your thoughts. Maybe the ideas will become a reality and help make our community even better.
Reach Managing Editor Mark Rogers at news@columbianprogress.com.
