32nd Annual Heritage Days Celebration
The historic Penn Center presents its 32nd Annual Heritage Days Celebration to be held November 6-9, 2014. Heritage Days is a festive family event enriched by the unique cultural expressions of the Gullah Geechee people, the historic significance of Penn Center and the natural beauty of St. Helena Island and all of Beaufort County.
Penn’s Promise: Legacy, Literacy and Land will be the theme for this year’s celebration which will be interpreted throughout the extended four-day event filled with a tradition of music, dance, food and art. Heritage Days will kick-off on Thursday, November 6th at 3:00 p.m. with the Opening Ceremony and Penn School Founders Memorial. The ceremony will feature: guest speaker, Ms. Senfronia Smith, the new principal of St. Helena Elementary School, the Flags of the Gullah People & Nations Processional that will be proudly presented by our very own Beaufort County
School students, a tribute to Penn School Founders Laura Towne, Ellen Murray and Charlotte Forten and the reading of the Heritage Days Celebration Proclamation.
Following the Opening Ceremony and between the hours of 5:00-7:00 p.m. attendees can enjoy a Taste of the Sea Islands and the Road of Remembrance Youth Theatrical Play. After dining on delicious Gullah cuisine, guests will take a short ¼ mile trip to Bethesda Christian Fellowship to partake in an Old Fashioned Prayer Service beginning promptly at 7:00 p.m To conclude the first day of events, Penn Center will present a collection of work created by the Heritage Days Celebration featured artist, Sonja Griffin Evans at a reception in the York W. Bailey Museum between 6:00-9:00 p.m.
The celebration continues on Friday, November 7th for the Youth Day program and events, Landowners and Farmers Workshop, Heritage Symposium and the Juke Joint Jam in Darrah Hall. Local and regional schools will converge on Penn’s historic grounds at 9:00 a.m. to be welcomed and greeted by Aunt Pearlie Sue, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Reenactment Regiment, artisans and craftsmen in the Gullah Roots Village, the Spirit of Old Beaufort’s re-enactment of Penn School founders Laura Towne and Charlotte Forten.
On Friday, the grounds will be filled with food vendors offering sumptuous Gullah cuisine and opportunities to purchase special finds at the vendors craft fair, all leading up to the night’s entertainment—The Juke Joint Jam in Darrah Hall. The main event day, Saturday, November 8th traditionally begins at 9:00 a.m. with a grand Heritage Days Celebration Parade. Parade goers will be delighted by local and regional high school marching bands, whimsical floats and lots of cheer. The parade begins at St. Helena Elementary School and ends on the Penn Center grounds at center stage where the Honors Program will begin at 11:00 a.m. The Honors Program allows Penn Center to give a very special thank you to our local churches that have provided support throughout the year.
Immediately following the Honors Program, everyone will enjoy a spectacular display of Gullah culture unfolding on the center stage.
During the main-event day, while center stage entertainment is unfolding, there will be lots to see and to do on Penn’s grounds: visit the Gullah Roots Village, food and craft vendors, the Welcome Center, the York W. Bailey Museum and Artists Row. Heritage Days is not over, Saturday evening presents two events to choose from: the 2014 Gullah Heritage Greek Step Show and the Soul Slide Dance Party. As the Heritage Days Celebration comes to a close on its last day, Penn Center and area St. Helena Island churches invite all to
Sunday Morning Worship Services. Please check Penn Center’s website for church listings and times of service. Penn Center has added a finale event in partnership with the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Center for the Arts, CUMBYAH-A Gullah Geechee Spiritual Experience on
Sunday, November 9th at 3:00 p.m. This event will showcase St. Helena Island soloists who are featured in the newly released CD, GULLAH: Voice of an Island and the Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters of Georgia. Masteress of Ceremonies for the evening will be Dr. Marlena Smalls, who is the founder and director of the nationally known Hallelujah Singers.
The 32nd Annual Heritage Days Celebration promises to be an event over-flowing with rich culture, valued customs and longtime traditions, that will leave all feeling fully immersed in all things Gullah Geechee. Come and experience a unique sense of place at the historic Penn Center on beautiful St. Helena Island, only 7 miles from Beaufort, S.C., one of “Best Small Towns to Visit.”
For information on Heritage Days Celebration events, call: (843) 838-2432, email: info@penncenter.com or visit: www.penncenter.com/public-programs/heritage-day.
