By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Penn Center will hold the 41st annual Heritage Days Celebration on St. Helena Island From Thursday, Nov. 6 through Sunday, Nov. 9.
The celebration is “a homecoming that honors the Gullah Geechee cultural legacy at the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District” according to a media release sent out by the Penn Center.
The Penn Center, which was founded in 1862, “is a cornerstone of African American education, civil rights and Gullah Geechee cultural preservation,” the release said. “Heritage Days continues its legacy of celebration, reflection and community connection – a vibrant reminder of the cultural contributions that define the Lowcountry and African American History.
“Celebrating a Legacy of Culture and Community,” is the theme for this year’s event which will feature youth and family activities, museum tours, artists and authors, live music, food traditions, scholarly talks, HBCU and Divine 9 programming and the Heritage Days Parade.
Lowcountry community members, artists, scholars, and faith leaders will gather to celebrate the “living legacy of the Gullah Geechee culture” through a weekend full of events meant to entertain and educate.
Festivities will begin on Thursday, Nov. 6 with Youth and Family Day, “Taste of Gullah” dinner and “The Road to Reembrace” play.
Youth and Family Day will begin at 10 a.m. and run until 3 p.m. and will feature an opening ceremony, drumline competition, Gullah Roots Village educational sessions, crafts and genealogy workshops, book signings and an art exhibition and traditional praise service.
Friday, Nov. 7, will feature a Gullah Geechee Lineage and Cultural Legacy Symposium as well as the “Hitsville at Heritage” Motown Fish Fry & Oyster Roast and HBCU & Divine 9 “Rep Hard Yard!”
The Heritage Days Parade will kick off Saturday, Nov. 8, which will be followed by a full day of entertainment on center stage as well as a cultural heritage marketplace.
The weekend will be capped with the traditional praise service at historic Brick Baptist Church on Sunday, Nov. 9.
For a full schedule of events and to purchase tickets for events, visit PennCenter.com/heritage-days.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
