Things to Do in Columbia

The Spring Hill Chamber of Commerce's Family Food Festival spotlights tasty local cuisine amid a spirited, family-friendly outdoor bash that helps support local food pantry The Well. Between bites of samples from area eateries such as Samboli's Pizzeria and Whisker's Catfish Restaurant, attendees can exercise thumbs at an arcade station and traverse an inflatable obstacle course, racing for glory against fellow guests or balloons twisted into cheetah shapes. To ensure safety, all children's activities are held under professional supervision.

When Franklin On Foot founder and guide Margie Thessin discusses the Civil War’s impact on Franklin, she shuns dry textbook summaries. Instead, she gathers groups before historic homes and battle sites, and she explains, “The war happened here. The people who lived here– this war was their 9/11. This was their Pearl Harbor.” Suddenly, she sees sets of eyes light up, as minds make the leap from musty tomes and texts to the people who lived¬—and fought and died—where they now stand 150 years ago.

To make history relevant, Ms. Thessin humanizes it, honing in on the famous and lesser-known people who shaped Franklin and the struggles they faced to do so. In that spirit, she seeks out guides who are not only passionate about history but possess a natural knack for storytelling.

In keeping with her commitment to orchestrate vivid tours, Ms. Thessin conducts them by bike or on foot. “You get so much from a place by walking it instead of looking out a window of a bus—you may as well fly at 32,000 feet,” she says. Small groups of sightseers stroll or if preferred, Charleston across the downtown area or expand their tour’s scope by cruising on one of Franklin On Foot’s 24-speed Fuji bikes.

Throughout the week, Ebonite Galaxy Lanes offers a spectrum of entertainment options in the forms of 32 synthetic bowling surfaces, arcade games, live DJ performances, and an outdoor volleyball court. The alley also hosts an onsite snack bar that fuels guests with bubbling pizzas while they enjoy recreational rivalries, league nights, or live broadcasts of slot-car races every Sunday. At the in-house watering hole, Front Row Sports Bar, live DJs spin digital discs and host karaoke every Thursday through Saturday.

Since 1998, ProCamps Worldwide has bridged the gap between pro athletes and their fans with a variety of instructional youth camps and fantasy camps for adults. More than 100 professional and Olympic gold-medal athletes have lent their wisdom during camps conducted across the country. For instance, the NBA's leading scorer, Kevin Durant, dishes details on his skills at a camp in Oklahoma, and Super Bowl champion and Packers linebacker Clay Matthews teaches the careful choreography of backfield disruption in Wisconsin. At fantasy camps, John Calipari and Bill Self—the two coaches who squared off in 2012's NCAA title game—give campers tours of their programs' hallowed halls.

The Discovery Center enlivens kids’ learning experiences by cleverly disguising exhibits as awesome playtime arenas. Tiny tots and even 10-year-olds are encouraged to run wild at this hands-on children’s museum and nature center, trying their hand at the many fun activities.

At the creation station, which is stocked with paint, clay, chalk, paper, and just about anything a young da Vinci or police sketch artist needs, kids are free to unleash their creative potential. Alternatively, at the fire-truck exhibit, they can put on a firefighter’s boots and hat and climb aboard the full-sized 1954 Oren fire truck to learn about a firefighter’s job in Murfreesboro. Nearby, at Tennessee Live!, they can get in touch with their natural surroundings when they come face-to-face with turtles, fish, and snakes at the living stream table, dig in the fossil pit, and learn about the customs of the native Cherokee.

Cheekwood's assemblage of botanical gardens stretches across more than 55 acres of verdant land, inviting members to explore its natural nexus of wooded streams, gentle pools, and stone grottoes. Visitors can appreciate Mother Nature's leafy hairline by weaving through Japanese, wildflower, and perennial gardens and cruising down avenues of crepe myrtles in lilac-powered lowriders. Green-thumbed guests can also admire each display's unique gardening style and exchange salutations with bursting seasonal flora. Guests can venture inside the 30,000-square-foot Georgian mansion to find Cheekwood's collection of decorative arts and Visions of the American West, a Wild West exhibition on display until May 4. The video-installation galleries explore Buffalo Bill's life and his legacy as Wild West icon and fearsome ventriloquist.