DIAMOND RIO Coming To DOWNTOWN DAYS

To highlight this year’s Downtown Days-Folklore of the Old West Festival, Renaissance Columbia sought to get a “big name” country music act to perform on Saturday night to close out the two-day event. And, members of the committee have accomplished their goal.
Diamond Rio, one of country music’s top groups for the past 17-plus years, will perform at Adair County High School’s Booster Field on Saturday night, Oct. 11. The concert is being presented by Renaissance Columbia and WAIN True Country 93.5.
Diamond Rio’s debut disc in 1991 went platinum, and since then the group has had nine number one hits and have garnered a total of six Vocal Group of the Year awards from the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music.
“We’re very excited about getting a group the caliber of Diamond Rio to come to Columbia,” Rhonda Loy, events chairperson for Renaissance Columbia, said. “For years, people in Columbia and Adair County have had to drive long distances out of town to see a top group. This year, people will be driving here.”
The concert will begin at 7 p.m. at Booster Field, and tickets, which go on sale Friday at Columbia City Hall, are $15.00.
“We wanted a top act, but we also wanted to keep ticket prices affordable so entire families can come,” Loy noted. She went on to say that while there will be some bleacher seats available, the majority of seating will be “festival” seating on the field, so concert goers can bring lawn chairs and blankets to sit on.
The Diamond Rio concert on Saturday night, Oct. 11, will close out the two-day Downtown Days-Folklore of the Old West festival,  now in its fifth year, which will get underway on Friday evening, Oct. 10.
There will be arts and crafts booths and food booths opening on Friday afternoon, and a corn toss tournament and a performance by the Wichitaw Band later in the evening.
Saturday’s events will kick off with a Fun Run for children under age 10, followed by a  5K run.
New this year will be a Pet Show on Saturday morning, and the Downtown Days Beauty Pageant will get underway at the Columbian Theatre (registration forms for the pageants will appear in later issues of the paper. For more information, contact Brandi Waggener at 250-2715 or Tara’s Salon at 384-2131.)
There will be musical performances on the Main Stage on the square throughout the day, a children’s parade, bed race, and the always popular re-enactment of the James-Younger Gang’s robbery of the Bank of Columbia.
“We feel like we’ve got a great festival lined up for this year,” Loy noted. “There’ll be a lot of things for people of all ages to enjoy.”
Further details about the festival, including a complete schedule of events, will appear in upcoming issues of the Adair Progress.