Summer Break has arrived! The kids are out for the year so that means lots more events, special hours for many places and the opening of some seasonal activities. Before we get into the events this week, I want to mention that this newsletter focuses on unique or date-specific events most weeks. Columbus has many great events that happen every week such as Market Days on Broadway, the Friday Concert Series, recurring live music at a variety of places, and many more. Those are GREAT events, but my assumption is that most locals already know about those, so I don’t want to focus on the stuff you may not have heard about yet.

With that said, let’s get to the good stuff for this week!

Events

1. 🐶 Bark & Blues Festival

Bring your pup and enjoy a dog-friendly afternoon of live blues music, food trucks, cold beer, vendors, and more. Proceeds benefit local animal rescues and humane societies. Musical performances by Alli Walker, Blank 281 (Blink 182 Tribute Band), Midnight Satellite, Dixie Red and American Whiskey.

• Location: Woodruff Park

• Date: Saturday, May 31

• Time: 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM

• Tickets: $10 for adults, (kids 10 and under plus dogs free!)

• Details: Barks and Blues

2. 🎉 School’s Out for Summer Party

Celebrate the end of the school year with bounce houses, face painting, Krazy Hair, live music and of course all the great food and drinks Highside has to offer. All proceeds from ticket sales for this event go to benefit the Bill & Olivia Amos Children’s Hospital and Children’s Miracle Network

• Location: Highside Market

• Date: Thursday, May 29

• Time: 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM

• Tickets: $20 for adults, kids free

• Details:  Schools Out Party

3. 🎭 Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations

Catch this Tony Award-winning musical telling the story of The Temptations' rise from the streets of Detroit to music stardom. Great music, powerful storytelling, and a must-see production. They’ll sing all the songs you’re wanting to hear and then some. I just checked and there are not a lot of tickets left, so if you’re considering this one, you’ll want to act quickly! Tickets start at $37.

• Location: RiverCenter for the Performing Arts

• Date: Tuesday, June 3

• Time: 7:30 PM

• Tickets and Details: https://rivercenter.showare.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=111

4. 🏈 Columbus Lions vs. Wheeling Miners

Cheer on the hometown team in a high-energy indoor football matchup! Affordable fun, great for families, and a lively way to spend a Saturday night. I still say that Arena Football is one of the most exciting sports you can watch. The games are relatively short, and it’s just non-stop action from start to finish.

• Location: Civic Center

• Date: Saturday, May 31

• Time: 7:00 PM

• Tickets and Details: https://www.columbuslions.net/stats#/1200/game/979304

5. 🏃‍♀️ The Big Run – Global Running Day 5K

I know, I know…. RUNNING?! You’ll either love this one or RUN the other direction, but at least hear me out. This is a fun community-wide running event on Global Running Day. Fleet Feet is hosting this 5K event in the heart of Uptown Columbus at their Big Dog Fleet Feet Location. The event is open to runners and walkers of all levels. It’s free to sign up, and registrants get a free drink or treat from Iron Bank.

• Location: Big Dog Fleet Feet, 12 W 11th St, Columbus, GA 31901

• Date: Wednesday, June 4

• Time: 6:00 PM

• Tickets and Details: https://www.fleetfeet.com/s/columbusga/news/celebrate-global-running-day-with-us-join-the-big-run

Summer Hours and Family Activities

I mentioned summer hours so I wanted to cover that briefly before wrapping up. Here are a handful of things that are seasonal for the Summer or geared specifically towards kids.

Spring Truck-Tacular

This was originally scheduled for early May and we reported on it, but it was rescheduled due to weather and now it’s this weekend! Details in the image above.

New Summer Hours and Seasonal Openings

• Callaway Gardens Robin Beach & Aqua Island - The sand of Robin Lake Beach at Callaway Gardens is officially open for the summer! This includes Aqua Island, Waterskiing, Putt Putt, Restaurants, Beach-Bar and all the other amenities they offer.

• Urban Air - Summer hours are officially here. Urban Air is now open Monday-Thursday from 11am - 8pm, Friday 11am - 9pm, Saturday 10am - 9pm and Sunday noon - 8pm

• Community Pools - As of yesterday, May 28th, for the first time in years the community pools at Double Churches, Psalmond Road, Rigdon Park and Shirley Winston are all OPEN! More info here.

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