Earlier this week, we asked our readers to brainstorm locations + plots for a potential future Hallmark movie filmed in the festive Soda City. We present — the Hallmark movie set in Columbia that was written by you.

Setting the scene

First, we needed to establish who the protagonist is, and where they are traveling to Columbia from. Out of 83 responses, the top-mentioned location our protagonist is flying in from is... the windy city of Chicago.

You may recognize the term Soda City the most from Soda City Market — Columbia's local, Saturday vendor market. | Photo by @brett.cr3

Where does the meet cute happen?

Next, where does the protagonist run into the hometown hunk? The overwhelming answer for the meet-cute was Soda City Market. Some fun call-out locations were:

Riding bikes at Owen's Field Park — Chloe J.
Their cars have a fender bender at the lights at Saluda Shoals — M. N. G.
Gallery in the Columbia Museum of Art — Sally B.

How do they bond?

In our data set, there were several instances where characters bond at Soda City Market. The ways our characters bond at Soda City Market are diverse, ranging from shared interests and experiences to chance encounters and disagreements that lead to meaningful conversations.

Food appreciation:

They disagree while in line over “this market couldn’t possibly have better or just as good -insert here- baked goods, like bread, tacos, arepas, etc” — Brooke S.
They both reach for the last loaf of fresh sourdough bread at a booth at Soda City. They explain why the other needs it more, and they learn they are more similar than they thought. — Jill W.
Their mutual love for Belgian waffles from the food truck. — Emmy B.
Best food vendor at Soda City — KHP
Grits! There needs to be an argument about grits. — Marci Delaney

Dog interactions:

Their dogs meet and get along. Or one owns a local coffee shop that the other stumbles upon and loves. — Raychel G.
Their dogs pull them together trying to get to each other. — Carol M.
Both are walking their dogs at Soda City, the dogs are drawn to each other, so they strike up a conversation and there is chemistry! — Jill P.

Shared love for the Gamecocks:

He is a former Gamecock football player and she was the lead cheerleader for USC. — Starr L.
Shared passion for the Gamecocks — Ginger M.
Ole schoolmates (USC) — Dwayne B.

Art and music:

They both love the same art — Sally B.
Conversations about art — Crystal F.
Their appreciation of Ernest “Chicken Man” Lee’s plank board chicken art — Roy M.

The final scene is set. | Photo by @photos_by_octavia

Where is the final scene?

At the end of the film, where will the two learn the true meaning of the holidays? The most frequently mentioned location or theme in this data set is the Christmas tree at the State House. Numerous responses also reference Main Street and its holiday decorations.

The Christmas tree in front of the State House. — Alvina H.
State House tree proposing — Rachel R.
State House with real snow for the first time in years! — Andy G.
Stroll from the State Hhouse tree to the bubble seating places at Main Street Market; Que fake snow! — Dawn B.
State House steps where it "magically snows" for the first time in years, coating the State House steps in a fresh blanket — Jill W.
Under the light canopy on Main Street State House tree in far background. Or coming from Bourbon outside middle of Main Street, tree and State House in the background — Brooke S.

Other notable locations/themes include holiday lights on Main Street, Five Points Fountain, Rooftop bars, the Riverwalk, and various holiday pop-up events.

Maybe our main characters plan a date to see an Indie film at the Nickelodeon Theatre. | photo via @nicktheatre

Things to keep in mind, Hallmark

We asked our readers to add any additional plot points. Many answers suggest the characters exploring different places in and around Columbia, such as Camden, Charleston, Elmwood, Chapin, Lake Murray, and more.

They discover all the great restaurants in Chapin & the overall romance of Lake Murray! — Anne W.
5 Points excursion — Gen L.
Excursion to Camden — Rick G.
Their love of day trips (Asheville, Beaufort, Charleston, Greenville) — Linda T.
A trip to NYC and realize NYC doesn’t feel the same because they found love in Soda City — Gabby W.

Another notable theme is the love for local food and restaurants, with mentions of specific places. Maybe include some scenes at Soda City Market, Groucho’s, The Whig, Cafe Strudel, and several others.

Remembering the Whig — Wendi L.
Cafe Strudel or DiPratos or No Name Deli — Terri K.
Dinner at Transmission and a movie at the Nick — BJ
Highlight local things - restaurants (Saluda's), best burger (Zesto's or Rush's), zoo — Maria R.

Additionally, some responses touch on college football allegiances (Clemson vs. USC) and old flames or ex-encounters as potential talking points for the characters. These can serve as interesting and engaging aspects for the characters' interactions and conversations.

Several of our readers listed Manish Dayal as one of the actors to play our main characters. | Photo by @manishdayal

Actors to play these characters

The top four mentioned actors were

Thank you to everyone who took our survey — it was so fun for our team to go through all of the responses and we can't wait to pitch our story to Hallmark.