2026 Gullah Festival

2025-2026 Bill 5558: 2026 Gullah Festival - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 5558
STATUS INFORMATION
House Resolution
Sponsors: Reps. Rivers, Alexander, Anderson, Atkinson, Bailey, Ballentine, Bamberg, Bannister, Bauer, Beach, Bernstein, Bowers, Bradley, Brewer, Brittain, Burns, Bustos, Calhoon, Caskey, Chapman, Chumley, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, Collins, Cox, Crawford, Cromer, Davis, Dillard, Duncan, Edgerton, Erickson, Ford, Forrest, Frank, Gagnon, Garvin, Gatch, Gibson, Gilliam, Gilliard, Gilreath, Govan, Grant, Guest, Guffey, Haddon, Hager, Hardee, Harris, Hart, Hartnett, Hartz, Hayes, Henderson-Myers, Herbkersman, Hewitt, Hiott, Hixon, Holman, Hosey, Howard, Huff, J.E. Johnson, J.L. Johnson, Jones, Jordan, Kilmartin, King, Kirby, Landing, Lastinger, Lawson, Ligon, Long, Lowe, Luck, Magnuson, Martin, McCabe, McCravy, McDaniel, McGinnis, C. Mitchell, D. Mitchell, Montgomery, J. Moore, T. Moore, Morgan, Moss, Neese, B. Newton, W. Newton, Oremus, Pace, Pedalino, Pope, Rankin, Reese, Robbins, Rose, Rutherford, Sanders, Schuessler, Scott, Sessions, G.M. Smith, M.M. Smith, Spann-Wilder, Stavrinakis, Taylor, Teeple, Terribile, Vaughan, Waters, Weeks, Wetmore, White, Whitmire, Wickensimer, Williams, Willis, Wooten and Yow
Document Path: LC-0734WAB-EB26.docx
Introduced in the House on April 22, 2026
Adopted by the House on April 22, 2026
Summary: 2026 Gullah Festival
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

4/22/2026

House

Introduced and adopted (
House Journal-page 9
)

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VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
04/22/2026

A
house
RESOLUTION

TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF THE
ORIGINAl GULLAH FESTIVAL OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND TO EXPRESS APPRECIATION FOR ITS
MEANINGFUL INFLUENCE IN PRESERVING THE HISTORIC GULLAH CULTURE AND ITS ECONOMIC
CONTRIBUTION TO THE STATE'S VITAL TOURISM INDUSTRY.

W
hereas, the members of
the South Carolina House of Representatives are pleased to learn that the 2026
Original Gullah Festival of South Carolina will be held from May 22-May 24 at
the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, located on Bay Street in the heart of
Beaufort; and

W
hereas, for forty
years, the goal of the Original Gullah Festival of South Carolina has been to
reclaim the lilting beauty of the Gullah dialect and the intriguing mystery of
the disappearing Gullah culture for future generations, a rich culture with a
mixture of West African legacy, as well as Native American and African American
heritage; and

W
hereas, the festival
also fosters arts in education by providing scholarships to worthy students,
and the organizers seek to engender a deeper awareness of, and appreciation
for, the Gullah culture; and

W
hereas, first held in
1986 by natives of Beaufort, the festival is a three-day celebration of the
historically significant Sea Island heritage and focuses on education and
cultural preservation of the African American Gullah heritage of the Lowcountry;
and

W
hereas, highlights
include a plethora of consumer, educational, and historical workshops; a fine
arts exhibit; demonstrations; and a wide range of music and food, something to
please everyone; and

W
hereas, a nonalcoholic
festival taking place every Memorial Day weekend, the Original Gullah Festival has
remained family-oriented and provides an excellent venue for a variety of
reunion activities and friendly gatherings, which reflect an evocative
component of Gullah culture; and

W
hereas, from its
humble beginnings of about thirty-five attendees, tourists numbering in the
tens of thousands now attend the festival annually from forty-two states and
from such foreign countries as Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Canada,
Australia, England, Germany, and Guadeloupe; and

W
hereas, the South
Carolina House of Representatives is grateful for the profound influence the
Original Gullah Festival of South Carolina has had on retaining the benefits of
Gullah culture for posterity and for the dedicated work of its enthusiastic
organizers in producing a quality event for visitors from around the world to
the Lowcountry. Now, therefore,

B
e it resolved by the
House of Representatives
:

T
hat the members of the
South Carolina
House of Representatives
,
by this resolution, recognize and honor the significant impact of the Original Gullah
Festival of South Carolina and express appreciation for its meaningful
influence in preserving the historic Gullah culture and its economic
contribution to the state's vital tourism industry.

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This web page was last updated on April 22, 2026 at 10:52 AM