The City of Columbia, in partnership with Keep the Midlands Beautiful (KMB), will celebrate the unveiling of the new “Greetings From Columbia” mural with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at the Laurel Street entrance to Finlay Park.
Installed near the park’s signature spiral fountain, the mural is the third in Keep the Midlands Beautiful’s “Connecting and Protecting Communities” mural series across Lexington and Richland counties. The artwork was designed and painted by Austin Garrett Reagan with input and guidance from the City of Columbia and was funded by Keep the Midlands Beautiful.
The mural highlights Columbia’s unique character while promoting anti-litter and recycling messages that encourage residents and visitors to help keep the community clean and beautiful.
“The ‘Greetings From Columbia’ image and the anti-litter and recycling theme will be a vibrant greeting for visitors to our newly reopened Finlay Park and inspire civic and community pride,” said Skot Garrick, Strategic Initiatives Administrator for the City of Columbia.
The Columbia mural follows the installation of similar murals in Swansea and Lexington as part of Keep the Midlands Beautiful’s ongoing effort to foster community pride and environmental stewardship throughout the Midlands.
“These murals are designed to help instill pride among residents and visitors in our city and state,” said Traude Sander, Executive Director of Keep the Midlands Beautiful. “We each play a role in keeping our community an attractive, healthy, happy, and safe place for all of us to live, work and play. Something as simple as putting litter where it belongs, every time, can make a tremendous difference.”
Community members and media representatives are invited to attend the ribbon cutting and view the mural as one of the newest additions to Finlay Park.