Annually since 2020, the North Carolina Rice Festival, Inc.—a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization whose motto is “Education through Celebration”—hosts a series of annual events created to showcase coastal southeastern North Carolina's unique status as the northernmost hub of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor and explore the significance of rice, once known as “Carolina Gold,” for its impact on that region's wealth and history.
So far, four events leading up to the daylong outdoor Festival will include an Introductory Program for the "new and few" unfamiliar with the Festival's dual focus; an Ancestry Reveal Program that helps African Americans residing in the local area better understand their connections to their Gullah Geechee heritage; and a Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Gala plated dinner celebration. The culminating North Carolina Rice Festival features live Gullah Geechee-themed performances, music, food, children's activities, other cultural demonstrations, and more—with expanded programming sure to come as interest in the Festival, its themes, and its popularity as a destination event, continues to grow.
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