The 20th Annual Sea Island Gullah Christmas Celebration comes to Beaufort December 1-4. Enjoy three days of culture, food, and fun enjoying the yuletide season Gullah Geechee style.
The Sea Island Gullah Christmas Celebration will be magical, kicking off the weekend with the Gullah Geechee-Sierra Leone Cultural Connection Symposium on Thursday, Dec. 1, 8:30 am-5 pm; Friday, Dec. 2, Gullah Geechee Cultural Tour and Christmas Market, and Saturday, Dec. 3, the Gullah Taste of Christmas, featuring the Gullah Geechee Rice Cook-off competition.
Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, 8 am – Gullah Geechee-Sierra Leone Cultural Connection Symposium – USCB Center for the Arts
The symposium will explore and celebrate the Gullah Geechee-Sierra Leonean cultural connection and its strides in education and the travel and tourism industry. Attendees will attend seven panel discussions including a Lunch & Learn dedicated to showcasing rice Gullah Geechee traditional rice dishes, while exploring its origins.
Friday, Dec. 2, 2022 – Gullah Tour & Christmas Market – USCB Center for the Arts
Attendees will take part in a three-hour extensive tour to learn about the history of Gullah people in the Greater Beaufort area. After the tour, get your Christmas shopping done by participating in the Gullah Christmas Market. Purchase one-of-a-kind gifts from Gullah Geechee vendors to give as the perfect gifts for Christmas.
Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, 11 AM – Gullah Taste of Christmas – Beaufort, SC Waterfront Park
The Gullah Taste of Christmas will showcase vendors and performances by the Gullah Kinfolk Traveling Theater and local artists, with the highlight of the event being the Rice Cook-off. The competition gathers professional Gullah Geechee chefs, caterers, restaurateurs, and home cooks from the Gullah Geechee Corridor – Florida to North Carolina – to participate in the cook-off, showing off their culinary skill preparing the rice dish for which they are known.
Gullah Homecomings Symposium: Four Sierra Leone – Gullah Homecomings – 2 PM – Technical College of the Low Country
After Many Years, the participants of the four trips to Sierra Leone come together to share their memories and increasing the awareness of the major historical and cultural connections between Sierra Leone and the Gullah Geechee people that historians have uncovered.
In addition, enjoy the annual Beaufort Christmas Boat Parade Saturday evening at 5 pm at Beaufort’s Waterfront Park and the annual Christmas parade on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022 at 3 pm.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.beaufort.com/events/event/sea-island-gullah-christmas-celebration/
