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May Issue 2007

Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival in Mt. Pleasant, SC - June 8 & 9, 2007

The 3rd Annual Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival, a component of the renowned annual Piccolo Spoleto Festival, will be held on June 8 & 9, 2007, at Laing Middle School in Mt. Pleasant, SC. The Festival is expected to attract more than 5,000 attendees, topping last year's total! Sweetgrass baskets of every size and description will be showcased and offered for sale to the public.

The festival's opening event will be held at Laing Middle School on June 7, from 6 to 8pm for a sneak preview of, Bin Yah, There's No Place Like Home; a documentary film focusing on the impacts caused by increasing residential and commercial development on the sweetgrass basket makers and their communities. The tradition of sweetgrass basket making is one of the oldest art forms of African origin in the United States dating back from West African civilization to current time. The tradition of basket making has continued beyond slavery and has become a collectible and highly sought-after art form, and is displayed by museums and state historical societies throughout the country.

The documentary film will be shown at intervals during the festival's two days for the audience to enjoy and engage in dialogues with notable scholars, basket makers and historians about the history of the sweetgrass basket art form and its contributions to the development of the Lowcountry and surrounding areas.

The Sweetgrass Festival activities will kick off on June 8, from 3 to 8pm and June 9 from noon to 8pm, at Laing Middle School in Mount Pleasant (2213 Highway 17 North). Visitors will be treated to more than 100 Sweetgrass Basket Makers who will demonstrate their basket making skills, along with an assortment of authentic Gullah Geechee cultural musical groups, praise dancing, appetizing Gullah cuisine, captivating story-telling, artists and crafters, quilters, children's fun zone, Houdini the Magician and a myriad of other activities for the entire family to enjoy.

The Sweetgrass Festival provides a pleasant relaxing atmosphere where tourists, visitors and local residents will be treated to one of the largest displays of West African's multi-generational ancient art form, recently designated by Governor Mark Sanford as the Official Hand Craft for the state of South Carolina. The most popular item is the "Fanner", a flat basket once used in the winnowing of rice during early South Carolina plantation days. Drawings will be held throughout the festival, where visitors will have a chance to win one of these beautiful sweetgrass baskets. Entrance to all festival activities and parking is free to the public.

Major Sponsors for the 2007 Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Festival are: The Town of Mt. Pleasant, The City of Charleston, Office of Cultural Affairs, Piccolo Spoleto, The Charles Pinckney National Historic Site (NPS), Goodwill Development Center, Wando Community Education Program, The Coastal Community Foundation, Direct Marketers of Charleston, The International African American Museum, The Humanities Council, SC Arts Commission, Creative Spark Center for the Arts, The National Historic Preservation Trust, SC National Heritage Corridor, College of Charleston, Avery African American Research Institute, Channels 2,4 and 5, SC Coastal Conservation League and the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA).

For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Festival at 843/856-9732 or visit (www.sweetgrassfestival.com).

 

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