The Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage will host an original exhibition titled Roots: The Lowdown on Lowcountry Food. The exhibit will feature the history of Lowcountry cuisine by highlighting the contributions of the many diverse people of the Lowcountry region. The focus will be on three specific, representative dishes: Frogmore stew, shrimp and grits, and she crab soup. South Carolina Humanities supported this project with a Major Grant in February 2016.
The purpose of Roots is to educate, promote, and preserve South Carolina’s culinary traditions. The exhibit will be on display from April 29, 2016—February 1, 2017 at the Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage (10782 Jacob Smart Blvd. S, Ridgeland, SC 29936). Public programs will include a grand opening community cook-off on April 30 from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., as well as a variety of cultural lectures and workshops featuring South Carolina scholars throughout the year. More information about the community cook-off is available here, and other programs include:
Tuesday, May 10| 2:00 p.m.
Carolina Gold Rice by David Shields
Learn more about Carolina Gold Rice and how it made its first appearance in South Carolina. Dr. David Shields professor at USC and author of the book Southern Provisions: The Creation & Revival of a Cuisine, will give a historical overview of this once prevalent golden crop.
Location: Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage, 10782 S. Jacob Smart Blvd., Ridgeland, SC
Open to the public
Info: 843-284-9227
Wednesday, May 18 | 1:30 p.m.
Kids Grow It, Study It, and Eat It Gardening Program
Hands-on gardening is the perfect way for kids to get outside and get their hands dirty. The Children’s Gardening Program celebrates the brand new exhibit called Roots: The Lowdown on Lowcountry Cuisine, there’s plenty of fun in store! Guided by the Director of Programs, Annmarie Reiley-Kay, kid’s plant, study, tend, harvest, and eat fresh produce; prepare and taste the fruits of their labor!
Location: Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage, 10782 S. Jacob Smart Blvd., Ridgeland, SC
Open to the public
Info: 843-284-9227
Wednesday, June 1 | 11:00 a.m.
Use of Plants by American Indians by Dr. Gail Wagner
Visitor’s will learn many uses of plants by Indians for food, drink, medicine, fiber, smoking, construction, even poison and is based on both archaeological evidence and historic accounts.
Location: Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage, 10782 S. Jacob Smart Blvd., Ridgeland, SC
Open to the public
Info: 843-284-9227
Roots: A Taste of the Lowcountry
Ticketed; tickets available at: https://roots-a-taste-of-the-lowcountry-tickets.eventbrite.com
Thursday, September 15 | 2:00 p.m.
History on Carolina Hash and Other Lowcountry Dishes by Stan Woodward
Learn about the folk heritage companion to barbecue that is a unique foodway of South Carolina – not found in neighboring states of Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. Also study about other beloved dishes that are native to South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
Location: Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage, 10782 S. Jacob Smart Blvd., Ridgeland, SC
Open to the public
Info: 843-284-9227
“This topic is a central theme throughout the region and is one of the most important links to the daily lives of its people,” says Director of Programs Annmarie Reiley-Kay. “By exploring traditional dishes of the region, this project will shed some light on passed-down oral and written accounts from its communities.”
Roots will focus on the region’s agrarian and food heritage while showing how cooking traditions have been the major catalyst in bringing people together through the creation of Lowcountry cuisine. By identifying traditional Lowcountry dishes and educating the current population, this exhibit will aid in the preservation of Lowcountry cuisine.
For more information about Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage or their exhibition, Roots, visit their website at: http://www.morrisheritagecenter.org/about/.
The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. Established in 1973, this 501(c) 3 organization is governed by a volunteer 22-member Board of Directors comprised of community leaders from throughout the state. It presents and/or supports literary initiatives, lectures, exhibits, festivals, publications, oral history projects, videos and other humanities-based experiences that directly or indirectly reach more than 250,000 citizens annually.
Image: By A13ean (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
