The City of Forest Acres will host Remember and Rise on Friday, October 3, from 6–9 p.m. at Gills Creek Memorial Park (24 Forest Lake Place). The free community concert and gathering will mark ten years since two defining moments in Forest Acres’ history: the tragic loss of Forest Acres Police Officer Greg Alia in the line of duty and the devastating Thousand Year Flood that began the very same week.

Features:

• Live music from The Reggie Sullivan Band
• Dinner, drinks, and desserts available for purchase including Jeb’s Famous Hotdogs, Schiano’s Pizza, Bamboo Cottage Jamaican food, Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream, Crumbl Cookies, Lazy Daisy Coffee Shop and Columbia’s Margarita Man.
• Several vendors donating a portion of proceeds to Serve & Connect in Greg’s honor.
• Parking available on-site; overflow parking available across the street at Forest Acres City Hall

Earlier in the day, at 9:30 a.m., Serve & Connect will hold a poignant ribbon-cutting for Greg’s Place, a new community center off Decker Blvd and Serve & Connect’s headquarters, named in honor of Officer Alia. October 3 carries deep significance—it was the day Greg was laid to rest in 2015, the same day historic rains began to fall, bringing catastrophic flooding to Forest Acres. Greg’s wife, Kassy Alia Ray, who founded Serve & Connect in his memory, will join Greg’s parents, Dr. and Mrs. Alia, at both the ribbon-cutting and the Remember and Rise event that evening.

The morning event will take place at Greg’s Place, located at 8131 Brookfield Rd at the former Petersen Presbyterian Church in the Woodfield Neighborhood. The evening event will take place at Forest Acres’ award-winning Gills Creek Memorial Park, recognized by the Municipal Association of South Carolina for its transformative work to reimagine the property. Once a heavily flooded plot of land with destroyed businesses unable to rebuild, City Council leadership embarked on a seven-year project to create the space.