Annual Festival to commemorate historic Gullah land purchase returns Labor Day weekend

The festival celebrates the ancestry of 47 Gullah families who pooled their money together to purchase former slave land in the 1920s.Photo byLands End Woodland River Festival

The annual Lands End Woodland River Festival is coming to St. Helena Island on Labor Day weekend, Friday, August 30th and Saturday, August 31st.

The festival is a two‑day family friendly, cultural event, celebrating the ancestry of the 47 Gullah families who pooled their money together and purchased 328 acres of land at Lands End on St. Helena Island in the 1920’s.

Families on the Island wanted a place to have fun, fish, hunt, chop wood for kindling, and bury their family members; not to mention to be able to have a legacy for future descendants and for the land to be carried down through the decades.

They called themselves the Woodland Club and held events to raise money to pay the property taxes over the remainder of the 20th Century.

The River Festival is an annual Labor Day weekend favorite for residents and visitors looking to enjoy cultural festivities along with the rich history of St. Helena Island.

On Friday, August 30th, enjoy an evening of fun starting at 5pm with a traditional Crab Crack and Fish Fry with live music along the river bank alongside the historic tabby ruins of the Riverside Plantation, next to historic Fort Fremont.

On Saturday, August 31st, starting at 10am, enjoy a day full of music and performances by Aunt Pearlie Sue, African dancers & drummers, a Libation Ceremony anf Gullah Storytellers along with local cultural groups and lots of food, seafood, craft vendors and a whole lot more.

The mission of the Lands End Woodland River Festival is to conserve and utilize the property as intended by the founders and to keep its legacy alive.

The festival is located 6 miles south of the historic Penn Center on St. Helena Island at 100 Lands End Road. Visit this link for a map if you’re unsure how to get there.