The Local magazine

Growing Stronger Together

Posted on November 5, 2026November 5, 2026 by Editor - the Local

Celebrating 170 years of the YMCA in Columbus—building community in spirit, body and mind. By Monica Jones Before there were YMCA basketball teams, swimming lessons or rooms full of exercise equipment, there was a young man in London who thought people needed somewhere to turn. In 1844, George Williams, a worker in the drapery trade, helped establish the Young Men’s Christian Association. In a city transformed by the industrial revolution, its early gatherings offered prayer,…

A Place of Wonder

Posted on November 3, 2026November 5, 2026 by Editor - the Local

Fourteen years of seeing the South with The Do Good Fund By Monica Jones A photograph of a river baptism might bring someone back to their childhood church. Another image might recall a relative, a roadside encounter or a place that has changed beyond recognition. Someone else will notice the light, the composition or the way a photographer caught an otherwise fleeting moment. At The Do Good Fund, all of those responses belong in the…

Vanessa Collier Is Coming to Blow the Roof Off BluesFEST

Posted on October 23, 2026October 23, 2026 by Editor - the Local

The powerhouse saxophonist, vocalist and songwriter makes a rare Georgia appearance Oct. 24, closing out a full day of music, history and connection in Talbotton. By Monica Jones If Vanessa Collier isn’t already on your radar, October 24 would be a pretty good time to change that. She’s a powerhouse saxophonist, vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music moves through blues, soul and funk, and she’s earned a reputation for doing all of it with one…

Meet Us on the PATIO

Posted on October 14, 2026October 14, 2026 by Editor - the Local

With free movies, public green space and more programming ahead, the Springer’s outdoor venue enters its next act. By Monica Jones Long before the Springer Opera House turned its lawn into the PATIO, there was already a vision for that corner of Tenth Street and Second Avenue. During the Springer’s extensive 1998 renovation, Janice Biggers imagined transforming the outdoor area into a park. Unfortunately, like many wonderful ideas pitched during major renovation projects, it became…

Public Service Above Position

Posted on October 7, 2026October 7, 2026 by Editor - the Local

Avett Brothers bassist Bob Crawford brings John Quincy Adams back into the conversation with a debut book about principle, power and an extraordinary second act By Monica Jones For Bob Crawford, American history did not begin as a career plan. It began with books on a tour bus and a question big enough to keep him reading: Was there a line connecting the nation’s founding to the America he was living in? Crawford, best known…

Where the Blues Still Live

Posted on October 6, 2026October 7, 2026 by Editor - the Local

Six years after a handful of musicians planted the seed, Talbotton BluesFEST is growing into a regional celebration of music, history and the people determined to preserve both. By Monica Jones There is a moment along the drive from Columbus to Talbotton when the traffic thins, the sky opens and West Georgia really begins showing off. The roads curve through farmland and tall pines. Small towns appear and disappear. Less than an hour from Columbus,…

Pumpkins at Callaway – Gets Its Biggest GLOW-Up Yet

Posted on October 1, 2026October 1, 2026 by Editor - the Local

Five seasons in, a $600,000 expansion brings new characters, nightly trick-or-treating and more ways to make fall memories at Callaway Resort & Gardens. By Andrew McCrory Some people welcome the fall season by willingly entering a dark building where strangers are paid to terrify them. Gracie Thompson is not one of those people. “I’ve been to haunted houses before that were too scary for me,” she said. Fortunately for Thompson—and anyone else who prefers pumpkins…

Family Theatre: Pride and Prejudice

Posted on September 23, 2026September 23, 2026 by Editor - the Local

A Look Inside Columbus’s Family Theatre and Its Production of Pride and Prejudice By Andrew McCrory Family Theatre has long been a place where creativity, connection and storytelling thrive. As a community theater, it brings Columbus residents together to make art and build relationships along the way. This season’s production of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice offers a reminder of why those spaces matter. Mikayla Hutchinson, the show’s director, has been part of Family Theatre…

The Next One

Posted on September 17, 2026September 17, 2026 by Editor - the Local

The Columbus Artists’ Guild opens its annual Members Exhibition—and its community—to artists and art lovers across the Chattahoochee Valley. By Monica Jones Ask Columbus Artists’ Guild President Julian Ripple to name his favorite piece of art, and his answer is simple: “The next one.” It is not a clever way of dodging the question. For Ripple, an oil painter who has experimented with other media but always finds his way back to oils, each new…

Turn It Up, Columbus

Posted on September 14, 2026September 14, 2026 by Editor - the Local

By Monica Jones There is a particular kind of magic in discovering a band before everybody else. Maybe it’s three songs into a set when you realize you haven’t checked your phone in an hour. Maybe it’s a band you’ve never heard of playing a song that suddenly catches you, and leaves you reaching for your phone to look up again later. Maybe it’s simply October in Columbus, the air finally behaving itself, music spilling…

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