Jerry Farber Celebrates His 87th Birthday at the Loft, March 20 By Frank Etheridge Stand-up legend Jerry Farber looms large as a comedy icon. It’s no easy feat to be a living legend in the world of stand-up comedy, but Jerry Farber has taken the challenge in stride, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that age is just a number—and a punchline. Mark your calendars for March 20, because the comedy world is coming…
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(Columbus, GA) – Hold onto your hats and prepare your vocal cords because the Springer Opera House is about to get a serious upgrade with the much-anticipated revival of Jesus Christ Superstar! Opening Friday, March 7, at 7:30 PM, this thrilling rock opera isn’t just another run-of-the-mill performance; it’s a modern spectacle that fuses gut-wrenching drama, gravity-defying choreography, and a set that will leave you questioning if you’ve wandered into a music festival instead of…
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Annual Opelika Songwriters Festival showcases top musical talents and the good times to be had in the sleepy railroad town. By Frank Etheridge Downtown Opelika sure is a sweet lil’ bubble to be in. Bordered by two bridges and bisected by railroad tracks, the charming historic corridor dates back further than the town itself, as the Montgomery and West Point Railway Co. line arrived in 1848 — six years before Opelika (the Muscogee term for…
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Is Rolling Into Columbus By David Turner It was July 9, 1971, and all of Shea Stadium was shaking. Staff engineers were afraid the building might collapse. Whole sections of seating rode up and down as tens of thousands of screaming fans rocked to the music booming from the stage. The band and the crowd in the jam-packed stadium were locked together in the pure celebration called rock and roll. It took The Beatles three…
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Local Film Needs You! By Paul Rowe As highlighted in the Annual Slate (see January’s edition), local filmmaking is experiencing significant growth. This year, a surge of films are in development in our area, and to transform this into a true cinematic tsunami, we need support, creativity, and ingenuity to bring our productions to life and grow a rich and sustainable industry. Below, you’ll find insider-info on the key challenges our local filmmakers face —…
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What happened to live music? By Miguel Juarez I don’t like to romanticize “The Good Old Days” because I firmly believe the world we are building is better every day than what it used to be. If that’s not the case, it is us who are failing. Just like every generation before us, it is our responsibility to pick up what we were given and run with it as far as we can. I was…
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Connecting With Our Watershed By Natalie Downey The wild rivers, lakes, creeks and ponds of Georgia criss-cross the state, our spectacular watershed unfolding like a flowing web of aquatic vitality. This magnificent watershed doesn’t just exist; it whispers a beautiful truth: connection is everything. Yet in our fast-paced world, many folks find themselves drifting away from the very water sources that keep our ecosystem afloat. We know that water is essential to life, and yet,…
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By Frank Etheridge Talk about a glorious full-circle moment. When the raucous, untamed spirit of Ma Rainey takes the same Springer stage where the “Mother of the Blues” first performed 125 years ago at age 14, she rightfully returns as a now-iconic genius finally given her due. While Columbus native Gertrude Pridget (1886-1939) has long enjoyed critical acclaim, it wasn’t until America’s Cultural Reckoning of recent years, which allowed for new voices such as Black…
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The savory smell of pizza wafts across Columbus as a local favorite returns. By Natalie Downey Deorio’s restaurant has been Columbus’ family-friendly pizza joint for decades, a welcoming spot which, for many, became a regular part of their lives. When its doors closed in 2017, the community was dismayed to lose not only one of its favorite pizza places, but also the smiling faces of Deorio’s owners and staff who were, many say, like family….
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Around Town Birds of PreyA must-see since its debut in 2000. During suitable weather, these magnificent creatures – which cannot be released into the wild, due either to injury or having developed an unnatural association with humans known as “imprinting” – demonstrate their strength, speed, and natural instincts in daily flighted programs. Several birds appear at each program, swooping overhead and giving guests an up-close look “on the glove,” while our raptor experts explain how…
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