Road Trip: Traditional music, dance, food, and crafts come together at Gullah Geechee Heritage Festival in Elkton, Fla.
Public domain photo courtesy of Visit St. Augustine.com
AC JosepH Media
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Gullah Geechee Heritage Festival returns to Florida’s Historic Coast on Dec. 6, at Armstrong Park in Elkton, celebrating the unique heritage of the Gullah Geechee people through traditional music, dance, food, and arts.
The Gullah Geechee are descendants of Africans who were enslaved on the rice, indigo, and Sea Island cotton plantations of the lower Atlantic coast. Many came from the rice-growing region of West Africa. The nature of their enslavement on isolated plantations created a unique culture with deep African roots clearly visible in their distinctive arts, crafts, foodways, music, and language.
The influence of the Gullah Geechee can be seen in modern-day Southern food, musical genres such as gospel, blues, R&B, soul, hip-hop, and jazz.
It can be seen in the creative yet utilitarian techniques used to make textiles and crafts. Congress designated the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor under the National Heritage Areas Act of 2006 to recognize its crucial contributions to American culture and history.
Encompassing much of North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, Florida’s Historic Coast is the southern end of the Corridor.
The Gullah Geechee Heritage Festival kicks off with a special Rails to Trails Bike Tour. The Palatka to St. Augustine State Trail is a multi-use recreational trail that runs through St. Johns and Putnam counties.
The festival begins at noon and features live musical and dance performances by Gullah Geechee Ring Shouters, El Shaddei Dance Ministry, Str8up Jax, Cellus, and JW Gilmore & The Blues Authority; authentic cuisine; cultural demonstrations; a craft fair with traditional and modern wares; and plenty of opportunities to learn about the Gullah Geechee.
The festival is free and includes entertainment and activities for all ages, from small children to adults. All festival proceeds benefit the SEA Community Help Resource Center, which provides meals, school supplies, and countless other resources to members of the communities of Spuds, Elkton, and Armstrong.
Visitors can continue learning and exploring by using Florida Historic Coasts’ St. Augustine Black History App. Created in partnership with Visit St. Augustine, the app showcases nearly five centuries of Black history.
Users can read about the changemakers, from well-known figures like Zora Neal Hurston to St. Augustinians like Richard Aloysius Twine, visit pivotal locations, including the Woolworths Lunch Counter, 56 Park Place, and Andrew Young Crossing, and learn about events such as the Fort Mose Historic State Park’s Flight to Freedom Re-enactment, which brings history to life. The St. Augustine Black History app is available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
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