Shop 'til you drop. Eat to your heart's content. Catch a blockbuster movie or a raved-about theatre production. Enjoy music that keeps you swaying to the rhythm. Making plans for a day out or an evening on the town won't be easy.

CA oversees a variety of recreational facilities and other amenities including 3,500 acres of permanent open space, 93.5 miles of pathways, more than 170 tot lots and several parks.

In addition many Columbia businesses offer discounts through the Columbia Association's Discount Buying Service.

Shopping and Restaurants

Columbia boasts a variety of shopping possibilities, including the Columbia Mall in Town Center, which features more than 200 stores — including L.L.Bean, J Crew, Eddie Bauer and department stores Macy's, Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom, Sears and JC Penney. The Mall is home to food court eateries, great restaurants and cheery cafes, including The Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang's, Champps, Panera Bread, Nordstrom Café and Starbucks. Other restaurants in Town Center include Clyde's, Copelands, Tomato Palace, That's Amore and Lakeside Deli.

Other Columbia shopping centers include Columbia Crossing — on Route 175 — where you'll find Target, Borders and Dick's Sporting Goods, and Macaroni Grill, Don Pablo's and other restaurants. A Wal-Mart is located across the road from Columbia Crossing at Dobbin Center. Restaurants in the Dobbin area include Mango Grove, McDonald's, Baja Fresh and Fuddruckers.

Snowden Square on Snowden River Parkway offers shoppers a Filene's, Home Depot and BJ's Wholesale Club. There are more restaurants here and nearby at a restaurant park at the intersection of routes 175 and 108.

Columbia's nine Village Centers offer localized shopping options. Many of the Village Centers feature grocery stores, banks, dry cleaners, video stores, liquor stores and smaller restaurants such as local pubs, pizzerias, delis and carryouts. On Columbia's main roads, you'll find a variety of ethnic restaurants — Indian, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese and Mexican.

For complete information on shopping and restaurants choices, visit the web site for our Village Centers, or visit www.DiscoverOurTown.com.

Movies, Theatres and Museums

AMC runs a multiplex at the Mall in Columbia and United Artists runs a multiplex cinema in Columbia at Snowden Square. In addition, several local film societies offer film series for residents. In downtown Columbia, Toby's Dinner Theater offers live theater throughout the year. Howard Community College and community theater groups host theater productions year round. Theater and musical performances are also offered at The Jim Rouse Theater at Wilde Lake High School.

Columbia is also home to the African Art Museum of Maryland, located at Historic Oakland in Town Center. For information about the museum, call 410-730-7106.

Music and Festivals

In the summer, the Columbia Association offers live entertainment and/or movies daily at dusk at the Columbia lakefront. For live, popular music concerts, Merriweather Post Pavilion located in Symphony Woods in Town Center operates through the summer. Symphony Woods is home to Columbia's annual Wine in the Woods celebration, sponsored by Howard County Recreation and Parks. The Columbia Festival of the Arts electrifies Columbia for two weeks each June in celebration of the arts with featured music performers. Past Festival of the Arts performers include Emmylou Harris, Pilobolus and Marcel Marceau.

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