AROUND CAYCE, SPRINGDALE & WEST COLUMBIA

The Gervais Street Bridge was closed October 21 for the fourth annual Soda City Friends’ Gervais Street Bridge Dinner.

The dinner featured live music and cocktails designed especially for the occasion by Josh Streetman, the award-winning head drink connoisseur of Motor Supply Co. Bistro. Desserts were by Ally & Eloise Bakeshop. Accommodations were provided by Something Borrowed.

The dinner is a benefit in the interest of preserving the Congaree and other local rivers. In its first three years, the event has raised more than $125,000 for local organizations including The River Alliance, Canoeing for Kids, West Columbia Beautification Foundation, Harvest Hope Food Bank, Serve and Connect, Congaree Riverkeeper and The Animal Mission of the Midlands.

Tara Greenwood, Director of Grants and Special Projects, said at Tuesday’s city council meeting that artists are being vetted for the city’s proposed interactive art park, in The River District. The park will contain eight works of art created by local artists.

The park is billed as a one-of-a-kind park that will feature musical events, art displays, artists booths and a farmer’s market. In the area of the park, there will be parking space for patrons of the area’s restaurants and users of Riverwalk. The park is being planned for Meeting Street, behind Terra’s restaurant, which fronts State Street.

The City of West Columbia’s Public Works, Police Department, and Fire Department held a joint recycling day at city hall last Saturday.

The city collected recyclable garbage items, prescription drugs as part of the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, and documents that were shredded by a shred truck on site.

The following items were recycled: electronics, paint, batteries, tires, used oil, appliances, scrap metal, and aluminum cans.

All metal and aluminum items that were recycled for the event were donated to the South Carolina Burned Children’s Fund.