Here’s some info about another event you can enjoy which came to us at Carolina Arts. Excuse the shortening of the Museum’s name – it’s always a mouth full in any title.
Nothing embodies the history and culture of the Lowcountry more than Gullah traditions, and the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC, will highlight them in A Gullah Culture Celebration, a Free Family Day to be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 12, 2010.
Gullah is the name given to descendants of former slaves of West African descent who settled in the coastal regions of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and their cultural traditions. The term is often used interchangeably with the name Geechee.
A Gullah Culture Celebration includes music, art, dance and, of course, food – both to sample and for purchase to enjoy later at home. All activities at the event, other than purchased items, are free.
Setting the mood for the day will be an African market with the Egbe Killimanjaro group. Other tasty treats will be available from Ultimate Eating in Beaufort, SC, whose owner Jesse Gantt is co-author of The Gullah Cookbook. Inside, on the Tea Porch, visitors can sample watermelon tea and sweet potato pone. (Watermelon tea is made from the recipe included in The Gullah Cookbook, written by Veronica Davis Gerald and Jesse Gantt. The cookbook is for sale in the Museum Shop.)
In the tent guests can enjoy listening to the gospel sounds of Billy Shepherd and the Celebration Gospel Ensemble, the Plantation Singers, and Carl Winters “The Kalimba King”. Later in the tent, Georgetown, SC, entertainers Egbe Killimanjaro will dance and drum along with Master Drummer Gene Golden.
At various locations within the Museum, a wealth of entertaining and educational activities will be available for visitors of all ages. See a demonstration on carving a walking cane, learn about Mancala, an African board game, and see how hammocks are made. There will also be sweetgrass basket making, storytelling with Adrene Harper, and noted Georgetown artist Zenobia Washington will lead a doll-making workshop.
Dr. Corrie Claiborne, Claflin University, will present her lecture From Sweetgrass to Housetop: Continuities in the cultures of the South Carolina Lowcountry and Gee’s Bend, Alabama. Later, Dr. Claiborne will give a docent tour of the exhibit A Survey of Gee’s Bend Quilts, on view at the Museum through Oct. 3, 2010.
Quilt by Mary Lee Bend
For the small fry, there will be face painting, along with workshops to learn to make Gee’s Bend-inspired wall hangings, church fans and a Gee’s Bend quilt square. Kids can also help paint a Gee’s Bend-inspired mural. Art Museum Education staffers Lori Seckinger and Arielle Fatuova will lead the workshops.
The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum is a wholly nonprofit institution located across from Springmaid Pier at 3100 South Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are welcomed. Components of Museum programs are funded in part by support from the City of Myrtle Beach, the Horry County Council and the South Carolina Arts Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
For further information call the Museum at 843/238-2510 or visit (www.MyrtleBeachArtMuseum.org).
