Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, June 25,2003 ' 7 TT"pi "m m—r~\T THEY SAID IT CONTACT US % I—I M \ /1 I ALBERT EINSTEIN: “Two things are infinite: E-mailusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com X_L_LJ IVlliV the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. Whether it’s bamboo or flower-pot painting, Riverbanks Zoo is the place to go for fun and education BY AARYNE ELIAS THE GAMECOCK On June 21 the Riverbanks Botanical Garden held its first Bamboo Day. Booths honoring the world of bamboo were set up on the garden’s terrace. The garden might be useful the next time your parents are in town and you don’t know how to keep them entertained. It also makes a great accompaniment to your next trip to the zoo or even a cheap, yet creative, date. No matter the occa sion, the botanical garden’s lush foliage will give locals a renewed appreciation of what the scorched days and rainy afternoons of Columbia’s summers have to offer. A trip to Riverbanks Botanical Garden is an experience that’s more mag ical than Alice’s romp through Wonderland. The garden is an ex tension of Riverbanks Zoo — full of stunning plants and flowers. A long wooden bridge over a deep ravine with a trickling creek serves as the rabbit-hole entrance to a garden that would make Alice herself a little jealous. Saturday, a medley of bamboo crafts covered booths’ tables, rang ing from wind chimes to flooring. Other booths provided books on bamboo and bamboo plants for purchase. Urban horticulture experts at the Clemson Extension provided information on how to grow and care for bamboo plants at home. They patiently answered ques tions and gave away handouts about the plants. Ironically, most people wanted to know how to get rid of bamboo plants, not how to preserve them. Children weren’t left out on Bamboo Day. There were bamboo games and craft workshops to keep them entertained. One craft the kids were making was a game called the fighting gamecocks. The toys could be wound up and re leased to watch the gamecocks fight. For those who aren’t so inter ested in bamboo, upcoming class es include a paint-your-own-flow erpot class and a lesson on how to make your own compost pile. Both will be on June 28. But that’s not all Riverbanks has in store for this summer. A grassy hill and a dome-shaped stage surrounded by jungle-like fo liage serves as an amphitheater and one of Columbia’s few outdoor venues. The garden’s concert se ries takes place at Riverbanks’ am phitheater. Next in the series is Latin Jazz star Pancho Sanchez, who will be serenading crowds in the garden Thursday. Tickets are $27 in advance. There will be a va riety of food. Beer and wine will also be available. Music fans can also pre-order a gourmet picnic dinner. See www.ticketweb.com for more details. The garden is a 34,000 square foot maze of themed gardens. These themes include a fruit and berry garden that features a recipe for guacamole that can be made from the contents of the garden and an art garden sprinkled with metal sculptures. The Riverbanks Botanical Garden offers an extremely visi tor-friendly affair. The maze of a garden is scattered with benches and swings to facilitate those'who would like to sit back and take in the serene environment. A multi tude of signs shoot up between plants with labels and tips, ensur ing that your visit will be educa tional. A short tram ride or a stroll down the woodlands trail from the zoo will land you at the garden and should provide you with an expe rience that’s both visually and aro matically delightful. Excluding Christmas and Thanksgiving, the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden is open seven days a week Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com PHOTO BY KAREN ELLETT/THE GAMECOCK The bamboo show was held outside the visitors center in Riverbanks Zoo’s Botanical Gardens. Hi SHOW REVIEW Zoo gives next-to-last concert of summer PATTY LOVELESS Riverbanks out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY TRISHA SHADWELL THE GAMECOCK Last week country singer Patty Loveless sang to more than 600 baby boomers who sat on blankets and folding chairs enjoying the humid night air and drinking ex pensive beer. This is the same generation that went to Woodstock. Growing up with parents that listened to country music like I did, you might believe that fiddles, guitars and banjos are as southern as grits, fried chicken and sweet tea. The concerts are held in the Riverbanks Zoo’s beautiful botan ical garden. The seating is in an open field full of fireflies. Even the sky that had been rainy all week was clear as the band members prepared the stage. I wore shorts to fight the heat and mosquito repellent to fight the bugs, but walked arrogantly past people who knew from experience what else to bring. The stage sits at the bottom of a hill. The hill serves two purposes: it allowed people behind me to see and caused all the water from recent showers to drain into mud pud dles. Lawn chairs popped up like dandelions after the rainstorm. Luckily, someone gave me a news paper to sit on. Loveless’ fun lyrics are un ♦ LOVELESS, SEE PAGE 9 s