Mitchelville Preservation Project sets Juneteenth Celebration

The Mitchelville Preservation Project is gearing up for this year’s Juneteenth Celebration on Hilton Head Island to highlight the art, food and music customs of the people of Mitchelville.

Admission tickets for the family-friendly event are $15 for general admission, $10 for students and free for children 4 and under. The third annual Juneteenth Celebration will be June 17 at Fish Haul Park, 229 Beach City Road.

Featured presentations at the event include the Joseph McGill of the award-winning Slave Dwelling Project, Marlena Smalls and the Hallelujah Singers, Lowcountry legend Anita Singleton-Prather and jazz legend Earl Williams. Local artists will be on site selling art created to depict traditional Lowcountry life.

Like Mitchelville’s freedom story, Juneteenth is a similar story. Also referred to as Emancipation Day or Freedom Day, Juneteenth is a holiday in the United States that commemorates the announcement of the abolition of slavery in June 1865 throughout the Confederate South. The immediate differences in the two stories end there, as the Juneteenth story embodies the perseverance of people who struggled to gain independence compared to Mitchelville, a thriving community on Hilton Head in Mitchelville. This year’s Juneteenth Celebration will reveal new interactive experiences that replicate those of significance to the freed slaves living in Mitchelville during the Reconstruction Era.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase, but only limited seating is available, so bring a chair.

For more information about Juneteenth Celebration or Mitchelville, call 843-255-7301 or go to exploremitchelville.org. Tickets can be purchased on the website.

This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 10:49 AM with the headline "Mitchelville Preservation Project sets Juneteenth Celebration."