Gullah Heritage Celebration 2013

The Magnolia Singers will perform on March 30.

NPS photo by Carlin Timmons

News Release Date: February 1, 2013

Contact: Bill Martin, [phone] x 11

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 p.m. during March 2013.

Charles Pinckney, a principal author and signer of the United States Constitution, owned seven plantations. A remnant of his Lowcountry plantation, Snee Farm is preserved today as Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. 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 plantation system but also to American culture in general.

These Gullah programs range from craft demonstrations such as quilting, cast-net making, wood-working and sweetgrass basket sewing to cooking, African drumming and story-telling, folk-tales, spirituals and other musical performances.

March 2
Veronica Gerald & Jesse Gantt, Gullah cooking demonstration
Vera Manigault, sweetgrass basket demonstration
Alada "Muima" Shinault-Small, African tales
NIA Productions, African drumming & dance  

March 9
Lincoln Middle High School, steel drums
Carolyn 'Jabulile' White, Sea Island storyteller
Vermelle & Andrew Rodrigues, quilting & toys
Vera Manigault, sweetgrass basket demonstration

March 16
Stall High School, steel drums
Anita Singleton-Prather, 'Pearlie Sue' Gullah Tales
Elijah Ford, sweetgrass basket demonstration

March 23
Sharon & Frank Murray, rice production
Dorothy Montgomery, quilting
Vera Manigault, sweetgrass basket demonstration
Charles C. Williams, castnet making

March 30
Ann Caldwell & the Magnolia Singers, spirituals
William Rouse, sweetgrass basket demonstration
Jeanette Lee, sweetgrass basket demonstration

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. For more information, call [phone].