Who are you, and why are you here?

*Non-Crescent moon, but pretty!

Let’s play two truths and a lie!

1. There’s nothing to do in Columbia.

2. Everyone in South Carolina is racist.

3. All Southern food is deep-fried.

We’ve never been good at this game. It turns out all three of those are lies. And in a way, that’s why we’re here.

We are people who love Columbia. We think it's a great city and want to see it become even better. We're artists and writers, students and professionals, young and old. We love what we do, and we hope to inspire our readers to go out and discover the countless reasons there are to love the city we call home.

On the site, you will find testimonies about food and drink hotspots, articles highlighting residents who make major differences in our community, stories detailing day trip destinations, and much more.

The site will also serve as a place for Soda Citizens to explore some of the amazing work created by artists and photographers in our capital city, and to read the work of talented writers. We’re here to provide them a platform, because more than anything else, the people of Columbia are what makes it a great place to live. We started this site with people who are pretty much a local melting pot, and we want as much more diversity as we can find.

We’re well aware that our city and its people are not perfect, and we’re not here to blow sunshine up your collective... you know. We won’t be shy about pointing out ways to make things better, but we are here to make it better, not ceaselessly complain without trying to help.

We’re not here to compete with the outlets that bring you local news. Some of our best friends work at those outlets, and we think they’re doing a great job. We’re here to support them too.

One of our founders recently heard the CEO of AFLAC say that while that company can’t cure cancer, they can be cheerleaders. We are community cheerleaders. We love our team, and we’re here to support them any way we can, win or lose.

Finally, we know that 2018 is not an easy time to be alive for many people (some much more so than others). We watch the news, and we often scream in frustration or cry in sadness too. However, we know beyond a doubt that there’s hope.

We know this because we see the great human beings who are devoting their lives to making Columbia, the nation, and the world a better place. We’ll help them any way we can. For many of us, that means sharing their stories. That’s what we think we do best. So when you need to know there’s still good in the world, check our site. You’ll find a lot of variety, but you will always, always find the people the great Fred Rogers called “the helpers.”

We also want to hear from you. Take a minute to #twisttoopen and check us out (it’s free and always will be)! Tell us how we can do better, and tell us if you’d like to be part of the team: email our co-founder Allen Wallace or Communications Director Annie Hilldrup. We’ll always answer!

Love,

The Cola Crescent Team