{"id":3871,"date":"2026-07-28T14:07:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3871"},"modified":"2026-07-28T14:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:07:24","slug":"columbia-seeks-event-planning-firm-to-activate-finlay-park-after-25m-redo-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3871","title":{"rendered":"Columbia seeks event-planning firm to \u2018activate\u2019 Finlay Park after $25M redo"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n

Columbia plans to hire help to organize more events and festivals at Finlay Park, the once-troubled greenspace downtown that reopened late last year after a $25 million facelift.<\/p>\n

Read more From State House to presidential ally. A timeline of Sen. Lindsey Graham\u2019s career<\/a><\/p>\n

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City leaders want a return for their investment, and have set up the park to be more than picnic tables and swings, but rather a thriving venue with a full calendar of events.<\/p>\n

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Now, the city is looking to hire experts to help run those events that leaders say will \u201cactivate\u201d the park \u201cas a premier downtown destination,\u201d according to a request for proposals the city issued this month for prospective contractors.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The hiring plans come after a busy first stretch for the park, which in its roughly eight months of operation has hosted multiple music festivals and other events. But the plans also come after teen fights led to a recent festival there being forced to end early, which also led the city to issue new park rules.<\/p>\n

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More events<\/h2>\n

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Since reopening in November, the park has hosted big music events like Jam Room and Songbird music festivals, holiday celebrations for Easter and July 4, and a rotating series of community activities.<\/p>\n

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City leaders want to see those events grow, which can bring more people to Columbia and boost tourism spending.<\/p>\n

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The contractor the city selects to help it with programming at Finlay Park will help plan and coordinate events at the park, from booking talent to organizing safety plans, according to the city\u2019s request for proposals.<\/p>\n

Read more Bet you didn\u2019t see this coming: Myrtle Beach\u2019s odds for shark bites, jelly fish<\/a><\/p>\n

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The scope of the work is broad, and includes things like lining up vendors, identifying sponsors, scheduling event timelines, planning artist security, marketing events and a long list of additional responsibilities.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not immediately clear what the city\u2019s budget is for the project. Companies interested in applying for the city\u2019s contract have until July 31 to pitch themselves and their budgets to officials.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The move comes just over a month after a Juneteenth festival being held at the park was forced to end early. Police found live ammunition at the same time a series of teen fights broke out across the park, where the 10th annual Juneteenth Freedom Fest had been going on throughout the park all day.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

After the festival ended, city officials issued a string of public statements decrying the bad behavior and announcing new rules for minors, requiring that they be chaperoned by someone at least 25 years old after 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

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Columbia City Manager Teresa Wilson at that time said the behavior wouldn\u2019t be permitted at Columbia parks, but especially not at Finlay Park.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe amount of investment \u2026 that went into standing this park up, there\u2019s no way it\u2019s going to be threatened by foolishness and wrong behaviors,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n

Read more Some of the best ways to rid SC gardens of pests using everyday home ingredients<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Columbia SC is soliciting event-planning firms to help activate Finlay Park after a $25M redo, coordinating festivals, vendors, security and marketing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local"],"yoast_head":"\nColumbia seeks event-planning firm to \u2018activate\u2019 Finlay Park after $25M redo - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=3871\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Columbia seeks event-planning firm to \u2018activate\u2019 Finlay Park after $25M redo - 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