https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315679648.html https://img.thecontentserver.com/b3c74571-666c-4293-8695-269d67643436/1_th.jpg Want a free lunch? Here's an option for May 8 in Columbus, GA VisitColumbusGA is providing FREE Community Appreciation Lunches to Celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week.Today's lunch included a free hot dog, chips, drink, and also a treat from The Icey Girl & Co.They're doing so again on Friday, May 8 in front of RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in downtown Columbus from 11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m.Tomorrow's menu is different, and includes food from a favorite Columbus restaurant. Learn more here. https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315679648.html/video-embed 72 2026-05-08T01:42:51Z no https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315673247.html https://img.thecontentserver.com/a1784dda-7042-4fbd-b0f3-819d89e94818/1_th.jpg Chattahoochee River Club closes after 34 years The Chattahoochee River Club at 1100 Bay Ave ceased operations May 1. In a letter to members obtained by the Ledger-Enquirer, leadership cited economic difficulties, dwindling membership, and the steep cost of crucial repairs, along with impacts from the COVID-era remote work shift and recent flood damage and a water heater failure. https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315673247.html/video-embed 67 2026-05-07T18:06:19Z no https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315688728.html https://img.thecontentserver.com/2bf429db-4589-483d-97e4-9806292b0e34/1_th.jpg Author of 'Boogie, Boogie Y'all' in Columbus for book festival. Meet him here C.G. Esperanza, a graffiti-inspired illustrator, whose books like “Boogie Boogie, Y’all” and “Soul Food Sunday” have won Caldecott and Coretta Scott King honors, spoke with students at two elementary schools in Columbus on Friday. Esperanza is one of the featured authors at this year's Columbus Children's Book Festival, scheduled for Saturday, May 9, at the Columbus Public Library. https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315688728.html/video-embed 117 2026-05-08T19:25:27Z no https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315656880.html https://img.thecontentserver.com/0d4a9bd6-2c7a-434c-a255-24d5a88aaf3c/1_th.jpg 'You don’t have to go to art school to be an artist.' Meet folk potter Ned Berry Folk potter Ned Berry said he began making pottery in 1991. “You don’t have to go to art school to be an artist,” Berry told the Ledger-Enquirer, “You don’t have to be trained, you know, you train yourself.” Berry will be at the Crossroads Folk Art Festival in Columbus, GA. https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315656880.html/video-embed 89 2026-05-06T16:44:23Z no https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315657035.html https://img.thecontentserver.com/bd61734f-7e92-449c-9360-136d6e483c73/1_th.jpg “You can’t put it in a box. You just can’t.” Meet organizer of Crossroads Folk Art Festival The second Crossroads Folk Art Festival, a free, family-friendly celebration of handmade visual art and folk music, is scheduled for May 9, 2026, in Columbus, Georgia.“It’s going to be a seamless, intertwined, interactive experience all day long,” said Kaitlynn Etheridge, festival organizer, and director at the Columbus Collectives Museum, “ Once you step into the park, you’re probably going to feel like you’ve been submerged into something that you probably didn’t know you were getting yourself into, and it’s going to be fun. https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315657035.html/video-embed 75 2026-05-06T16:53:54Z no https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315657245.html https://img.thecontentserver.com/009e41cc-1b07-4cab-a322-c305bdb73cfb/1_th.jpg Meet folk artist Jarrod Turner.There's a story behind every lampshade he makes Folk artist Jarrod Turner’s work focuses on making art with found objects.Watch as he creates a lampshade in honor of fellow Columbus, Ga resident and folk artist Ralph Frank. https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/article315657245.html/video-embed 68 2026-05-06T17:06:39Z no