New Boyd Plaza to open during March First Thursday on Main

Free opening celebration courtesy of the Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation Inc.

Thursday, March 7 | Gates open at 5:00 p.m. | Celebration 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Columbia, S.C. – Located at the corner of Main and Hampton Streets, Boyd Plaza is in the final stages of an extensive renovation project, a gift to Columbia from the Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation Inc. The Columbia Museum of Art announces a free party — also courtesy of the Boyd Foundation — to celebrate the completion of the new Boyd Plaza on Thursday, March 7, during First Thursday on Main.

“The renovation of Boyd Plaza is our gift to the City of Columbia and the Columbia Museum of Art and is in furtherance of our objective of making Columbia a better place to live,” says George Bailey of the Boyd Foundation. 
Already a popular hangout spot, the renovated plaza offers seating areas perfect for relaxing in the shade, lush new landscaping, a redesigned fountain, and indoor/outdoor spaces that add up to an even more inviting plaza for both residents and visitors of the Main Street District to enjoy.

“The CMA is so grateful to the Boyd Foundation for this beautiful new plaza and excited about its potential,” says Della Watkins, CMA executive director. “We’ve been meeting with dozens of partners new and old to brainstorm how to best activate this space for our communities.”

To that end, the CMA was recently awarded not one but two grants — from the Knight Foundation as well as Central Carolina Community Foundation — to engage the public with a dynamic and vibrant schedule of events and performances on Boyd Plaza, accomplished through CMA community partnerships with nonprofits, cultural and educational organizations, artists, and Main Street Festivals. Upcoming programs include Arts & Draughts; the Indie Grits Fist and Spoon Fair; a partnership with Love, Peace & Hip Hop; and CMA Play on the Plaza.

Opening Celebration of Boyd Plaza 
Thursday, March 7 | Gates open at 5:00 p.m. | Celebration 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. 
The extensive renovations of Boyd Plaza are nearly complete! The Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation Inc. is celebrating its gift to Columbia with a party for the city! Join us during First Thursday on Main to see this exciting new space and enjoy music from The Dick Goodwin Big Band and the Greater Columbia Society for the Preservation of Soul, DIY art projects, and free refreshments while supplies last, including treats from Curiosity Coffee Bar and Blue Flour Bakery and beer tastings with Victory Brewing's Boyd Plaza Pilsner. Cash bar by the Whig. 

As part of the monthly Free First Thursday on Main at the CMA program, the museum is open until 8:00 p.m. with free admission courtesy of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina.

Find more information here.