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- For Immediate Release February 18, 2013 - 

~ Find Your Fun This Spring in Columbia ~ 

  Columbia Convention
& Visitors Bureau

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Rock Bridge Memorial State Park is a favorite springtime escape for many locals and visitors to the Columbia area.
Springtime in Columbia, Missouri boasts a bountiful offering of exciting events, breathtaking blooms and an easy way to escape the doldrums of the waning winter months. As the weather warms and the gardens green, locals and visitors begin to take advantage of Columbia's city and state parks and conservation areas to shake off the cold and breathe a breath of fresh, fragrant springtime air. For more information on springtime fun around Columbia, please read on.

TRUE/FALSE FILM FEST CELEBRATES LANDMARK 10th YEAR

For the tenth year in a row, downtown Columbia, Missouri will be transformed into a small-town cinematic utopia during the internationally acclaimed True/False Film Fest, February 28 through March 3, 2013.

 

Photo courtesy of True/False Film Fest

In the decade that True/False has been in existence, fest organizers have managed to create a buzz-worthy, can't-miss event that has invaded the national cinema conscience, consistently being ranked as one of the top documentary festivals in the world. This celebration of life and film consists of four, action-packed days of excitement and intrigue featuring some of the best current documentaries in the world, a handful of highly-sought-after secret screenings of films, masquerade balls, dance parties, awe-inspiring art installations, a carnivalesque parade and busking musicians from around the globe. With so much life and energy packed in to a whirlwind of four-days, it's nearly impossible for attendees not to feel inspired and exhilarated about the world in which they live.

 

Photo courtesy of True/False Film Fest

Most of the celebrated films come freshly discovered from Sundance, Toronto and other festivals, while other docs appear mysteriously before their official premieres elsewhere. This year's program is comprised of over 60 films (37 features, three short film programs, a new outdoor "shorts" installation titled The Great Wall, and more) selected from over 1,100 submissions, and promises to be better than last year with an impressive number of can't-miss documentary heavyweights. Another True/False highlight is the presence of nearly every director at the screenings to discuss their film, their filmmaking philosophy and field questions from the audience, making each showing a very personal experience for the auteurs and attendees alike.

 

All screenings will be in downtown Columbia (all within quick walking distance of one another), making it one of the easiest festivals to attend and enjoy.

 

For more information on the 2013 True/False Film Fest (including a full program of filmsfestivities and musicians), and an informative guide on "How to Festival," please visit TrueFalse.org.

 


BEAUTY IN BLOOM IN COLUMBIA'S PUBLIC GARDENS

Given that Columbia is home to over 20 city parks, three celebrated state parks, multiple conservation areas and myriad public and private gardens, the area offers some spectacular springtime scenery for locals and visitors alike. Read on for information on two of Columbia's most beautiful public gardens.

  • MIZZOU BOTANIC GARDEN -
    Photo courtesy of Mizzou Botanic Garden
    It is no well-kept secret that the University of Missouri's educational grounds are both historical and beautiful, but what most don't know is that Mizzou's entire campus is also a thriving botanical garden. Since the garden's inception in 1999, the Mizzou campus has become a living museum of thousands of plants displayed amongst the school's iconic sites, such as President Thomas Jefferson's original grave marker and the symbolic Columns of Academic Hall. The Mizzou Botanic Garden is open year-around and is free to the public. Maps for self-guided tours can be found on the garden's website and physical copies are available in the Reynolds Alumni Center (at the corner of Conley and Tiger Avenues). Guided tours are available for groups of six or more throughout the year. For more information on Mizzou's Botanic Garden, including descriptions of the different gardens and installations, visit Gardens.Missouri.edu.
  • SHELTER GARDENS - 
    Photo courtesy of AroundColumbia.Blogspot.com
    Just three miles west of Mizzou's campus, beyond the handsome stone-and-wrought-iron gates of Shelter Insurance's corporate office located at 1817 West Broadway, are five lush acres containing over 300 varieties of trees and shrubs and more than 15,000 annuals and perennials. The garden also boasts a waterfall, rock garden, Vietnam veterans' memorial, a garden for the blind and a 19th century one-room schoolhouse. The gardens are open daily to the public between 8 a.m. and dusk (except Christmas Day, when the gardens are closed). On Sunday evenings during the summer months of June and July, live local music permeates the garden's fragrant air during the "Concerts in the Gardens" series. For more information about the Shelter Gardens, please call 573-214-4595.

COLUMBIA REGIONAL AIRPORT OFFERING NEW FLIGHT PLAN
Starting this month, effective Feb. 14, Columbia Regional Airport (CRA) offers direct, non-stop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago O'Hare International Airport through American Airlines' subsidiary American Eagle. The newly added American Airlines connection replaces the Delta Airlines connection that served the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport hub. CRA still offers direct flights to Orlando International Airport through Frontier Airlines. Travelers from the central Missouri region now have the convenience of direct access to three of the nation's busiest hubs, opening doors to hundreds of cities and dozens of countries around the world. CRA also offers free short- and long-term parking, adding to the ease of flying out of Columbia. For more information, or to book your flight out of Columbia Regional Airport, visit FlyMidMo.com.
 

Photo courtesy of Mizzou Botanic Garden

Columbia features a mix of small town charm and friendliness with the amenities and cultural offerings of a big city. There is always something exciting to see and do in Columbia, so for more information on these events and other ways to have fun in Columbia, please contact Megan McConachie, Communications Manager, at the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800-652-0987 or at VisitColumbiaMO.com.  

 

Attention Media: Let us play host and show you around Columbia. To schedule a press trip, please contact Marjorie Beenders, Jo Duncan, or Kyle Stewart. For more information, media assistance or high-resolution photos, please call The Beenders-Walker Group toll-free at 800-544-8474 or email Marjorie, Kyle or Jo.