News Release

Cumberland Island National Seashore to host 50th Anniversary Kick-Off Event October 1, 2022

Date: September 21, 2022
Contact: Robin Barker, 912 882 4336 x251

St. Marys, GA— Cumberland Island National Seashore turns 50 on October 23^rd, 2022! To commemorate this significant milestone, the park will be hosting a year-long series of events, to begin with a kick-off event on October 1, 2022 in conjunction with the St. Marys Seafood festival. In partnership with the City of St Marys and the local Kiwanis Club, Cumberland Island’s kick-off event will include a full day of diverse and family-friendly activities and programs.  

“We invite everyone to come and help us celebrate Cumberland Island National Seashore’s 50^th anniversary on October 1. This is a special day that will start a series of events to help us commemorate the founding of the park,” Gary Ingram, Superintendent.

The celebration will begin with a Cumberland Island themed parade at 10:00 a.m. during the St. Marys Seafood Festival. Following the parade, a formal program to kick-off a year-long schedule of events will begin at 11:15 am, at the St. Marys Howard-Gilman Memorial Waterfront Park amphitheater.

There, the First Coast Highlanders’ pipe and drum band, the Camden County High School Junior Navy ROTC and premiere Volume One choir will welcome guests. Formal remarks by dignitaries will commence at noon followed by the internationally regarded Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters at 12:30 p.m. The program will conclude at 1:30 p.m. with a musket firing by living history demonstrators from Fort Frederica National Monument and the 42^nd Regiment of Foot and Clan Nan Con, a highlanders’ regiment from Darien.

After the program, visitors are invited to participate in many other free Cumberland Island related festivities at the NPS Visitor Center (12:00 pm – 4:00pm) and enjoy the many booths, food venders and exhibitors at the Seafood Festival.

We will continue the commemoration throughout the year with various events including a speaker series, special Plum Orchard holiday tour, and new on-island interpretive programming. We hope to see you at the event on October 1, 2022 and throughout the year as we commemorate 50 years of conservation at Cumberland Island National Seashore.

For details on this event and other programs throughout the year, visit our website at https://www.nps.gov/cuis/learn/50th-anniversary.htm
 

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Cumberland Island is the largest barrier island off the coast of Georgia, encompassing more than 36,000 acres of maritime forests, salt marsh and beaches. The island is also home to over 9,800 acres of congressionally designated wilderness. The island’s natural and cultural resources provide a rich and diverse habitat for wildlife and offer a glimpse into the long history of coastal Georgia. The seashore is accessible by pedestrian-only passenger ferry from the historic community of St. Marys.
 

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