2019 Original Gullah Festival (May 24th - May 26th, 2019)

Memorial Day Weekend, Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park plays host to the Original Gullah Festival.  

The Gullah Festival was established to honor and recreate the atmosphere of a celebration called Decoration Day, now named, Memorial Day. The Festival provides a unique family-friendly cultural experience for local, national and international attendees of over 35,000 during the 3-day event.

For over 30 years, The Original Gullah Festival has been celebrating the rich Gullah culture that lives in the sea islands of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.  

For a festival schedule, please see below.  For more information, please visit their website here: https://www.originalgullahfestival.org/

Images courtesy of the Original Gullah Festival 

2019 Festival Schedule: 

Friday, May 24, 2019 (Free Admission)
Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park
 
Children and Family Day
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Featured performances by local school bands, dance troupes, drama groups and other acts!
 
St. Helena Elementary School “Wax Museum”- St Helena, SC
Battery Creek High School Band- Beaufort, SC
St. Helena Elementary School- Praise Dance- St. Helena, SC
St. Helena Elementary Gospel Choir                                                  
Lady’s Island Middle School Band- Beaufort, SC
Jamari’s Drums- Beaufort, SC
Robert Smalls International Academy Dance Ensemble – Beaufort, SC
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM              “Break” – (Shop Food and Craft Vendors-Visit the Gullah Village)
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM             Gullah Festival Youth Pageant
9:00 PM – 12:00 AM          All-White Party (White Attire Suggested) featuring “All That DJ Delva”  – with Hors D’oeuvres – Caterer: Mae Frances Pinckney Catering ($30 entry fee)
 
Other Attractions:
 
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM     Lest We Forget (Lecture Series) (Free Admission)
Grace AME Church- 502 Charles Street, Beaufort, SC

10:00am – 10:55am     Gullah Praise Houses and Information (Rev. Bryant)

11:00am – 11:55am     Young Women Surviving in Today’s World  (Panel)

12:00N –  12:55pm        History of Mitchellville  (Mrs. Joyce Wright)

1:00pm –1:55pm          The Jim Crow Era  (Mrs. Andrea Allen)
Tabernacle Baptist Church – 907 Craven St., Beaufort, SC

2:00pm – 3:00pm          Tour of The Tabernacle Baptist Church and Campus  (Donations Accepted)
 
Gullah Tours (See front gate for information during the festival.)
 
The Gullah Village – Located inside
 
The Vendor Market – Open to the public
 
(Times and Entertainers are subject to change)
 
 
Saturday May 25, 2019 ($25 Entry Fee)
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM     Drum Call – Wona Womalan African Drummers-Charleston, SC
10:15 AM – 10:45 AM     Aunt Pearlie Sue (Anita Singleton Prather) and Gullah Kinfolk
10:45 AM – 11:15 AM     Louise Cohen – Gullah Storyteller – Hilton Head, SC
11:15 AM – 11:45 AM     Voices of a Gullah People Singers- St. Helena, SC
11:45 AM – 12:15 PM     Natasha Robinson- Gullah Storyteller- St. Helena, SC
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM         Official Welcoming Ceremony
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM           Wona Womalan African Drum and Dance Co – Charleston, SC
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM           Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters – Darien, GA
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM           Ron Daise – Gullah Singer/Storyteller – Pawley’s Island, SC
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM           Dr. Marlena Smalls and the Hallelujah Singers – Beaufort, SC
3:30 PM – 3:50 PM           Lynn Bryant and the Family Slide Dancers- Beaufort, SC
3:50 PM – 4:10 PM           Single Leg Amputee Sports Association (SLASA)
Freetown, Sierra Leone
4:10 PM – 4:40 PM           Patrick Duncan – Poet – Lithonia, GA
4:40 PM – 5:25 PM           Kenya Safari Acrobats, Inc. – Kenya, East Africa/NC
5:25 PM – 5:55 PM           Spiritual Gangsters (Gullah Rappers) – Hilton Head, SC
6:00 PM – 7:00PM            Soweto Street Beat – Soweto South Africa/Atlanta, GA
 
Saturday Night Concert ($35 Entry Fee)
8:00 PM – 9:30 PM           CeCe Peniston- International Recording Artist
10:00 PM – 12:00 AM     Liquid Pleasure Super Show Band
 
Other Attractions:
 
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM      “Lest We Forget” (Lecture Series) (Free Admission)
Grace AME Church- 502 Charles Street, Beaufort, SC

 10:00am – 10:55am     Reconstruction/Jim Crow Era (Dr. Lawrence Rolland)

11:00am – 11:55am  Gullah Tales – (Mrs. Gertrude Brown Video)

12:00n    –   12:55pm Small Businesses in the Federal Sector (Alecia Hall)

1:00pm  –   1:55pm    Ancestry With A Twist  (Kimberly Morgan)
Tabernacle Baptist Church – 907 Craven St., Beaufort, SC  

2:00pm –    3:00pm    Tour of The Tabernacle Baptist Church and Campus (Donations Accepted)
 
4:00 PM – 6:00 PM           “Decoration Day” (A Musical) ($25 Entry Fee)
                                         Aunt Pearlie Sue (Anita Singleton Prather) and the Gullah Kinfolk

Gullah Tours (See front gate for information during the festival.)
 
The Gullah Village (Located inside) & The Vendor Market – (Open to the public)
 
(Times and Entertainers are subject to change)
 
Sunday May 26, 2019 (Free Admission)
 
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM     Hour of Power Worship Service (Donations Accepted). United Church – Bishop Jack Bomar, Pastor
 
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM     Rededication of the Commemorative Marker
Foot of 11th St – Port Royal, SC
 
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM           Adriane Johnson – Gospel Vocalist – Beaufort, SC
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM           BB and Company (Band- Jazz, Rhythm & Blues) –– Beaufort, SC
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM           Edward Rhodes and the Xenia Group (Gospel) – Atlanta, GA 
3:30 PM – 4:15 PM           Kenya Safari Acrobats, Inc. – Kenya, East Africa/NC
4:15 PM – 4:50 PM           Rev. Heyward Anderson & Davis Chorale Singers (Gospel) – Calera, AL 
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM           Marine Corps Brass Band – Parris Island, SC

7:00 PM – 7:15 PM           Unity Circle (Form a circle around the park and join hands)

(Times and Entertainers are subject to change)