NIBCAA, South Carolina’s Gullah Cultural Ambassador, will present the 24th Annual Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration and Festival throughout the month of February 2020. The annual celebration will reprise their award-winning Gullah Market, Paint and Sips and Arts Ob We People Exhibit and Sale. New features for this year’s celebration include the featured artwork “Two Pounds” by artist and educator Alvin Glenn and Gullah Tales and Songs with Ron Daise.
The 24th Annual Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration will present a series of events that pleases the palette of attendees and captures the spirit and the significance of Gullah culture. The Gullah Market: An Arts, Crafts, and Food Expo on February 15th and 16th, at the Historic Honey Horn on Hilton Head Island will be alive with music, dance, and messages presented to strengthen the community and enhance the understanding of the native island culture. The Gullah Market will be open with food and shopping. There will be children’s events and featured traditional entertainment including African dance ensembles, storytellers and the renowned Voices of El Shaddai.
The Arts Ob We People – Arts Exhibit and Sale is the longest-running event of the annual celebration. Patrons and guests are invited to come and experience Gullah culture through the eyes of local artists. The Sea Island Gullah people adhere to the customs of their ancestors. Since there are few land markers that commemorate the culture handcrafted art serves to memorialize the lifestyle and traditions for the Gullah people. The exhibit is open for tours daily during the month of February at the Art League Gallery at the Coastal Carolina Art Center.
Throughout the month several other cultural programs will be held that offer perspective on the traditions that have been maintained by the descendants of the West Africans that were brought to the coastal islands of South Carolina and Georgia in bondage. Those programs include the Gullah Heritage Music Series, the Gullah Institute, Paint and Sip, Ol’ Fashion Gullah Breakfast, Freedom Day and Taste of Gullah.
Advance tickets are recommended and available on gullahcelebration.com. For more information about the Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration visit the website or call 843-255-7303.
