Local Living: Opera coming to the Koger Center this weekend, Columbia Museum of Art hosting free film screening tonight and more!

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– The opera is coming to the Koger Center this weekend! The Palmetto Opera will bring a full-scale orchestra to perform “Great Moments in Italian Opera.” It takes place this Sunday, June 5 at 3 p.m. The concert will feature local and international soloists, along with an after-performance party.

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– The Koger Center is also hosting “Make Music Day.” More than 1,000 cities in 120 countries celebrate the day to share music with friends, neighbors and strangers. There will be free events and concerts all day on June 21, starting at 1 p.m., and anyone with a musical background is welcome to participate.

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– The Columbia Museum of Art is offering free admission and a free screening of a film created by Lowcountry hip hop duo Native Son. It’s called “Restoration: A Concert Film,” and it explores southernBlack land ownership. It’s all a part of the “More than Rhythm: A Black Music Series.” You can catch the film Thursday at 7 p.m.

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– Cheese lovers listen up! You have a chance to try the best pimento cheese Columbia has to offer.

On Thursday, Experience Columbia SC announced it is bringing back its popular Pimento Cheese Passport promotion. 17 restaurants will be featuring their finest dishes including the cheesy treat.

“Pimento cheese in Columbia dates back to 1912, when one of the first recipes was published in a local cookbook, and we feel honored to continue its legacy with the re-launch of the passport,” said Charlene Slaughter, APR, director of communications for Experience Columbia SC. “This passport includes a dozen returning locations from our debut pimento cheese passport in 2019, and five new spots for this year all found throughout our beautiful city. We encourage visitors and residents alike to experience pimento cheese in its best form – crafted alongside Southern favorites by restaurants in our backyard, but also to take a moment and appreciate our city’s scenery, arts, and rich history along the way!”

Once your download your passport, you can check in when you go to participating restaurants and order the featured dish with pimento cheese in order to get a digital stamp.

Those who visit the most participating restaurants will be eligible for prizes including mugs, t-shirts, and a $50 gift certificate. Officials say participants who visit five participating restaurants will get a Pimento Cheese Passport mug or pint glass, on an alternating basis. Participants who check in at 10 participating restaurants will receive a Pimento Cheese Passport t-shirt, and those who visit all 17 participating restaurants will get a mug, t-shirt and $50 gift certificate to their favorite participating restaurant.

Experience Columbia says participating restaurants include the following:

• Bourbon

• Café Strudel, Lexington

• Café Strudel, West Columbia

• DiPrato’s Delicatessen

• Good Life Café

• Midwood Smokehouse

• Mr. Friendly’s New Southern Café

• Rambo’s Fat Cat Biscuits

• River Rat Brewery

• Rockaway Athletic Club

• Roy’s Grille

• Spotted Salamander

• Terra

• The Root Cellar

• Sandwich Depot

• The War Mouth

• The Whig

“We are thrilled to be a new stop in Columbia SC’s Pimento Cheese Passport,” said Chris Williams, chef at Roy’s Grille and a 2022 South Carolina Chef Ambassador. “It’s so exciting to recognize the creativity and quality of pimento cheese dishes available throughout Soda City.”

To download your passport, visitpasses.experiencecolumbiasc.com/checkout/352/experience-columbia-sc/1924/experience-columbia-sc-exclusives/deal/3754/pimento-cheese-passport.