Juneteenth Celebration at the Frog Alley Caribbean Festival

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Mary Graham Grant has been sewing sweetgrass baskets in the traditional ways of the Gullah Geechee since making her first one in 1990. Now an artist-in-residence, Grant travels the country, sharing traditional art forms that were brought to coastal South Carolina from West Africa via the slave trade.

As part of the June 8 Juneteenth Celebration at the Frog Alley Caribbean Festival in Delray Beach, Grant will demonstrate the artistry of sweetgrass basket sewing and give hands-on instruction to the festival-goers.

Grant will be joined by Ramona La Roche, PhD, who will share even more information on the Gullah Geechee culture and traditions at the celebration. Dr. La Roche is a Cultural Heritage Informatics Librarian at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Ft. Lauderdale. Grant and La Roche will bring an interactive, educational and authentic element to the Juneteenth Celebration, thanks to a grant program from the Spady Cultural Heritage Museum.

Funded by a Traditional Arts Touring Grant from South Arts, the Spady Museum invited Grant and La Roche to create a special workshop that illustrates the ties between the Gullah Geechee culture and the African-American communities of South Florida.

The Spady Museum invited Grant and La Roche to create a special workshop that illustrates the ties between the Gullah Geechee culture and the African-American communities of South Florida.

“We couldn’t think of a better event to showcase this talent and history than the Juneteenth Celebration at the Frog Alley Caribbean Festival because it’s such a fun combination of music, food, culture, history and community,” said Museum Director Charlene Farrington. “Delray Beach is a microcosmic melting pot of cultures, so we know there are descendants of West Africa and the Gullah Geechee living here, and we are proud to celebrate their contribution to our communal fabric.”

The Juneteenth Celebration at the Frog Alley Caribbean Festival will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, June 8, 2019, at the Libby Wesley Plaza, Atlantic Avenue and SW 5th Avenue in Delray Beach. The event features and celebrates the Caribbean culture, including food, music, fashions and history based in the West Atlantic corridor. The Festival is held in conjunction with Juneteenth and with National Caribbean-American Heritage Month.