A Greek Festival and A Jubilee

A recent Saturday in Columbia, SC was full of festival fun!

We started at the 33rd Annual Greek Festival.

It was full of color and gorgeous crafts!

Beautiful fashions and fabrics.

The pashminas were tempting but I really would have no place to wear one.

We were enamored with the bronze crafts.

There was live ethnic music.

Children were engaged in traditional dance and costume.

Our main goal attending the festival was to consume Spanakopita and it was amazing. 

We checked out the dessert section for Baklava and it was sold out (note: get there early next year)! My backup choice was Baklava covered brownie. Brilliant!

Next block over was the Jubilee: Festival of Black History and Culture.

Another amazing event filled with color!

Beautiful fashions.

Arts, crafts and more!

We also listened to Karyn Parsons read an excerpt from her first novel, How High the Moon. This bittersweet novel is of a 12 year old girl growing up in South Carolina during the time of Jim Crow laws. She needs to reconnect with her mom who lives in the very different environment of Boston for her career. She also learns the truth about her father.

I remember Parsons from Fresh Prince of Bel Air as the spunky, stylish cousin, Hilary Banks.

She is also the founder of the Sweet Blackberry Foundation. This important organization brings little known stories of African American history to children.

The setting for this festival was at the historic Mann-Simons Site. This was home to the same African American family for nearly 130 years (1843 - 1970). Its history spans from enslavement through urban revival.  

The entrepreneurial family was of the small free population at the time of making this their home. Future generations experienced the Jim Crow south and the Civil Rights movement, creating such a rich history to learn.

I hope you enjoyed this peak of the festivals. We will definitely come back next year!

Thank you for stopping by. ~Val