GULLAH KINFOLK TRAVELING THEATER KICKS OFF SUMMER WITH DECORATION DAY PERFORMANCE
Gullah Kinfolk Traveling Theater will be presenting “Decoration Day, an Old Fashion Memorial Day Celebration” on Saturday, May 15. Two show performances take place at 3 and 6 p.m., at the University of South Carolina at Beaufort’s Center for the Arts. Both shows will be taped for the upcoming release of the “Decoration Day: The Movie.” Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased from Gullah Kinfolk Theater’s website, https://www.gullahkinfolktravelingtheater.org/.
“We are extremely excited to be able to present this wonderful, traditional performance to kick-off the summer season,” said Anita Singleton-Prather, founder and artistic director of Gullah Kinfolk.
“Being prayerfully on the downside of the pandemic and the state opening, what better way to celebrate than to enjoy a celebratory story through performance. We need this right now!”
The play tells the patriotic story through musical numbers by the Gullah Kinfolk troupe.
The performances will transport the audience back in time to experience Memorial Day “like it ustah’ be.”
It features:
- the parade
- dances at Sam’s Stokes Greasy Garage
- Silas Green from New Orleans Carnival
- Story of the Grand Army Hall and Beaufort National Cemetery
- Tootie, and Gullah-licious nibbles
Decoration Day, also known as Memorial Day, was first celebrated by African Americans in 1865. Decoration Day honored the newly liberated enslaved people and those Blacks who in the Civil War.
Singleton-Prather said, “In light of the times we are living, through this performance.”
“We can see that as a nation we are still in the struggle to be one nation, with the absence of racism.”
If we do not take the time to understand our history as a nation, we will be bound to make the same mistakes. This Gullah Kinfolk performance teaches you this. You can be a part of the fabric that continues to fight for freedom, justice, and end racism. It’s a celebration of a people, Gullah people, America’s people.”
Though the original basis for Memorial Day celebrations around the nation has been lost. But in Beaufort, S.C., Decoration Day continues to honor the African American who served and lost their lives fighting for freedom in the civil war at May weekend festivities.
Due to COVID-19, safety protocols will be observed. Each show seats 150 people to accommodate social distancing. For more information, call 843-263-5229 or https://www.gullahkinfolktravelingtheater.org/.
