Gullah Celebration brings culture to Hilton Head Island

A month of sweet grass baskets, gospel music, shrimp and grits, and more is in store with the 12th annual Gullah Celebration starting today.

This year, expect a few surprises to go along with the mainstays.

Organizers expect about 20,000 people to cycle through the events this year -- about one fourth of those return visitors. So, to keep the celebration fresh to the repeat visitors, new events have been added and others altered.

"We're trying to keep good, fresh yet different types of entertainment," said James Mitchell, president and CEO of the Native Island Business and Community Affairs Association.

The premiere of "Journey to a Spiritual Life," an original production by native islanders Louise Cohen and Ruth Germany, will be performed Feb. 22. The production tracks the Gullah people's pilgrimage customs to get closer to God.

The monthlong arts exhibit will be bigger than ever, organizers said. The kickoff event today features a silent auction with an original lithograph from renowned Gullah artist Jonathan Green.

The step-show that was introduced last year to attract a younger crowd has grown into the De Young Gullah

Youth Speak Out and Youth Art Exhibit. It will feature Savannah's All Walks of Life hip-hop youth group, which will team with the Bluffton Boys and Girls Club for a

performance.

Musical entertainment will come from across the globe for the celebration. Chart-topping gospel act Lee Williams and the Spiritual QC's will close the celebration with a concert Feb. 29. Mamadou Diabate, master of the kora, a stringed African instrument, plays a concert Feb. 24.

Of course, the mainstay attractions will return. The Arts, Crafts and Food Expo Feb. 16 and 17 features sweet grass basket making and other Gullah traditions. A Taste of Gullah the Saturday before has more of an emphasis on Gullah foods than the following expo.

Organizers had to make adjustments to last year's festival to make sure it was not a Gullah festival in name only. A few of the events had gone away from traditional, and this year, organizers are striving to make sure the Gullah Celebration lives up to its name.