The City of Columbia welcomed the new school year Tuesday morning with its annual Back-to-School Bash at the City Park, drawing an esti-mated 180 children and their families.
The event began at 10 a.m., with local business-es, churches, and com-munity members hosting booths offering free food, drinks, backpacks, school supplies and other give-aways. Students received free t-shirts upon arriv-al and were entered into drawings for prizes, including four laptops, backpacks filled with school supplies, and gift cards to local restaurants.
Entertainment began at 11 a.m. with Master Magician Lance Burton, who captivated the crowd with his charm and sleight of hand. Burton brought volunteer, Olivia Keltner, on stage to assist with a magic trick.
“I wanted to do some-thing different this year. I haven’t done this trick in close to 50 years,” Burton said.
With help from Roger the rabbit, Burton picked the correct card from the stack.
Music filled the park as Mark Harris and Jake Hill of the Green River Band performed “Dixie Land Delight.” Harris introduced Hill for a solo acoustic number, adding, “Everyone has a guitar hero, and Jake is mine.”
The performances continued with magician Dinky Gowan and assis-tant Adrienne Phoenix, regular entertainers at Beech Bend. Their act kept the crowd on the edge of their seats, fea-turing illusions from making Phoenix vanish to transforming a dove into a rabbit.
By the end of the event, students left with new supplies, smiling faces, and excitement for the year ahead.
Mayor Pamela Hoots thanked all the sponsors and participants who helped make this event possible.
