Everything you need to know about the (sold-out) Gervais Street Bridge Dinner.

Did you snag tickets to one of the •premier events• of the season? I’m talking about the Gervais Street Bridge Dinner – the sold-out party on top of Cola’s most iconic landmark (over the Congaree River) on Oct. 22 from 4-8 p.m. If you did, lucky you.

(Take a look back at 2015 + 2016’s dinners to see why this event is more fabulous than your wedding.)

But if you missed out on tickets, we’re partnering with Soda City to give away two tickets this morning on our Instagram. Enter to win.

If you’re going (or you’ve already set your calendar alert in August 2018 to buy tickets to next year’s), here’s what you should know.

🌊 Doing good | The Gervais Street Bridge Dinner is more than just a three-course, al-fresco dinner party at sunset with 1,000 Soda Citizens. In its first two years, proceeds from the dinner raised $75,000+ for local charities – with a particular focus on organizations working to improve the health + wealth of our protected rivers. (Yep; what pretty much every person in Cola collectively wants for our city.)

This year, the dinner will benefit five local charities (The River Alliance, Canoeing for Kids, West Columbia Beautification Foundation, Harvest Hope + Heroes in Blue) that better our rivers + the communities surrounding them.

The top beneficiary is The River Alliance – a nonprofit dedicated to connecting people to our river system, stimulating economic development, granting public access, attracting tourism and highlighting the related history + culture of the Broad, Saluda and Congaree Rivers.

Why? In short, the more people can access the river ➡ the more they care about the river ➡ the healthier our rivers will be ➡ the healthier our people will live.

Out of respect for the life + service of fallen Forest Acres police officer Greg Alia, his wife Kassy Alia (Founder of Heroes in Blue) and the first responders in the Midlands who served our community in the historic 2015 floods, Knight of Honor gala award recipients are honored guests on the bridge.

🕺 Live music + dancing | There’ll be live performances by Prettier Than Matt, Flat Out Strangers (ft. Debbie Adedokun of Debbie and the Skanks + Jessica Skinner of Prettier Than Matt) and the Palmetto Swing Dance Association. This is so much fun to watch.

🍸 Cocktail hour | Josh Streetman of Motor Supply will design the drink menu. The awesome roller derby ladies from Columbia QuadSquad will be serving drinks + appetizers, too. #mealsonwheels

🍽 3-course dinner | The passed, family-style food platters are by catering extraordinaire Southern Way Catering. Last year’s dinner had dishes like farm-to-table harvest salad with butter beans, roasted pumpkin + sugar country ham, and smoked rosemary-peppercorn beef tenderloin with roasted fingerling potatoes over arugula. (Um, two more servings, please.)

🎨 Extra entertainment touches | Trahern Cook (a.k.a. the incredible @easelcathedral) will be live painting on the bridge; Charles Hite will have a small photography display highlighting the Gervais Street Bridge + our rivers; and Andrew Touzel of Fuse Massage Therapy will be giving chair massages. Word.

👗 Dress | Wear whatever makes you feel good. This isn’t a too formal affair, but certainly deserves an outfit fit for a night out on the town – er, bridge. Pro tip from the GSBD team: The bridge is concrete – so a night of dancing to local bands might not be the most comfortable in stilettos. Maybe opt for comfy shoes. And don’t forget a scarf/wrap/sweater/jacket to combat the late-October chill.

(Our team will be rockin’ our fav fall frocks + sunnies keep our eyes protected from Cola’s blinding awesomeness – and that late afternoon sun. 🕶)

The bridge dinner is more than a dinner with some pretty incredible views on the side. The seated, Sunday supper at sunset gives Soda Citizens a chance to slow down where they usually speed in + out of town. It also gives locals the chance to view + appreciate the rivers as one of our city’s most valuable resources – and the proceeds could help redefine the region’s financial health + livability. Coming together is the only way this will ever happen.

Come one, come y’all.

– Beth

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