Sports / Entertainment

Consumer Stories

Columbia County farm owner to offer goat yoga class this weekend

Jeanette Norris loves kids, whether they have two legs or four. Norris, a pediatrician and owner of a 10-acre farm off Columbia Road in Grovetown, will offer her first goat yoga class on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Peaceful Warrior Apothecary, 324 South Belair Road, Martinez. The one-hour outdoor class, which will include six to eight of her friendliest goats, is called Pet-A-Goat Yoga. “It’s a regular yoga class with goats jumping around,” she said. “Our goats are very friendly, and people love to pet them.” Norris bought the farm

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Aiken’s Nutcracker is a tale of childhood stories and the economy

The Aiken Civic Ballet recently celebrated its 50th year, making it South Carolina’s longest-operating dance company. During the Christmas season, they host the Nutcracker Tea at the Aiken Historical Museum and present the beloved Nutcracker ballet held at USCA’s Etherredge Center. Both are wildly popular. Tara Reeder, ACBC President and Chair of the Nutcracker Tea said, “You’d think we were selling tickets to a Taylor Swift concert for this weekend’s tea. We added a sitting for a total of four with 88 guests at each and the tea still sold

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Sponsors needed for Friday’s event

In 1995, Ricky Moore led the Westside High School basketball team to victory in the Georgia High School Association’s Class AAA tournament. Moore also played for the University of Connecticut and helped the team win the national championship in 1999. He will host a tournament at his alma mater, Friday evening and wants local businesses to sponsor it. Six teams will compete in the Ricky Moore Invitational. Lucy C. Laney High School will compete against Jones County High School at 5:30 p.m., Augusta Christian Schools will take on Butler High

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Bell Auditorium to undergo major renovations starting in spring 2023

By May 2024, the Bell Auditorium will look significantly different than it does today, according to Project Executive Consultant, HB Brantley. Brantley said the nearly 2,700-seat venue will undergo major renovations that are currently scheduled to begin in April 2023. He said the plan is to close the Bell from July 2023 to May 2024 to complete the project, which will include adding a two-story, 5,000-square-foot grand hall/promenade; demolishing and rebuilding the venue’s dressing rooms; installing a fire sprinkler system; and updating the existing green room. Brantley said the Augusta-Richmond

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Augusta Entertainment Complex hires new general manager

The Augusta Entertainment Complex, which just celebrated its most profitable year ever, is now under new management. Last week, Brian Martin took over as General Manager of the AEC. In this role, he’s responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the James Brown Arena and Bell Auditorium and booking shows for both venues. Martin works for OVG360, the company that manages those venues. He served in two previous roles with the AEC: Box Office Director and Director of Event Services. Before returning to Augusta, Martin was the Assistant General Manager

Read More »
Consumer Stories

DOJ investigation of PGA Tour includes Augusta National

Augusta National was in the news again last week, but not in the way it would prefer. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division is investigating the PGA Tour for antitrust violations, and in the process has included looking into Augusta National Golf Club and the United States Golf Association (USGA). In August, 11 members of the new Saudi-backed LIV golf tour filed suit against the PGA, saying among other things that the tour had colluded with Augusta National to keep players from participating

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Vendors needed for upcoming expo aimed at parents

Brandy Mitchell has found a fun, creative way for local businesses to interact with children and their parents. And your business can still sign up to participate. Mitchell, founder, and editor of CSRA Kids, a guide for parents that lists a variety of children’s activities, created Kid Jam in 2018. The all-day event features more than 100 vendors, including food trucks, a petting zoo, face painting, and inflatables. Sponsors include the Family YMCA of Greater Augusta and Murphy Auto Group. “Kid Jam is our annual kid expo,” she said. “We

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Augusta Entertainment Complex celebrates most successful year ever

The more than month-long Beyond Van Gogh exhibit at the James Brown Arena (JBA) and the eighth annual Augusta Blues Festival at the Bell Auditorium were just two of the events that helped those venues record their most successful year ever. The JBA and Bell, collectively known as the Augusta Entertainment Complex (AEC), are managed by a company called OVG360, which operates under the direction of the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority. The company’s Regional Marketing Director, Tyler Gambrell, said more than 161,000 people attended shows, concerts, and other events, which

Read More »
Consumer Stories

Former chalk mine near Aiken now home to young golfers

What started as 38 acres of overgrown shrubs and gnarly pine trees covering an abandoned sand and chalk mine is now a nine-hole golf course. It doesn’t feature the beauty shots of Augusta National or the Aiken Golf Club, although the team that renovated the latter, Three Amigos Golf, was responsible for bringing life to Chalk Mine 9. It’s a private golf facility for the exclusive use of USC Aiken Men’s Golf and First Tee-Aiken, but as of Tuesday, September 27, the course can now be played by community and

Read More »
Consumer Stories

GreenJackets’ attendance tops in all Single A, sets franchise record

Fans showed the Augusta GreenJackets plenty of love during the 2022 season, so much so that they topped all of Single A in attendance, plus set a franchise attendance record. The GreenJackets drew 262,172 fans to SRP Park during the season, the best among the 30 Single A Minor League Baseball affiliates. They also averaged 4,096 fans per game, besting their previous record of 4,050 set in 2019. SRP Park has 4,200 seats but with standing room only admissions can host 6,000-plus. “We’re very fortunate that the community supports GreenJackets

Read More »