Date: December 19, 2005
Contact: Carlin Timmons, 843-881-5516
Celebrate Gullah Heritage! The National Park Service, in partnership with the Town of Mount Pleasant, is sponsoring a series of free cultural programs at Charles Pinckney National Historic site every Saturday at 2:00 pm during February and March, 2006.
Charles Pinckney, a principal author and signer of the United States Constitution, owned seven plantations. Enslaved Africans and African-Americans on Lowcountry plantations developed a unique culture known collectively today as “Gullah.” Gullah people made significant contributions not only to the Lowcountry plantation system but also to American culture in general. A remnant of his Lowcountry plantation, Snee Farm, is preserved today as Charles Pinckney National Historic Site.
These Gullah programs range from craft demonstrations such as quilting, cast-net making and sweetgrass basket sewing to cooking, African drumming and story-telling, folk-tales, spirituals and other musical performances.
Feb 4 Caroline “Jabulile” White, Sea Island storyteller
Vera Manigault, sweetgrass baskets
Feb 11 Alada “Muima” Shinault-Small, African tales
NIA Productions, African drumming & dance
Feb 18 Ann Caldwell & the Magnolia Singers, spirituals
Jeannette Lee, sweetgrass baskets
Feb 25 Anita Singleton-Prather, “Pearlie Sue” Gullah Tales
Mar 4 Veronica Gerald & Jesse Gant, Gullah cooking
Vera Manigault, sweetgrass baskets
Mar 11 Vermelle & Andrew Rodrigues, quilting
“Sista, Sista” stories & skits
Mar 18 Ann Caldwell & the Magnolia Singers, spirituals
Charles Williams, cast-net making & woodwork
Mar 25 Anita Singleton-Prather, “Pearlie Sue” Gullah Tales
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, located at 1254 Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant, is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Days.
