Lowcountry attractions bring black history to life

By JOEY HOLLEMAN

February isn’t the only time you can hit the road to learn about black history in South Carolina, but it’s the best time.

Many special programs crop up along the coast during Black History Month, making a weekend field trip to the Lowcountry more fun.

To help you decide when and where to go, here are some of the planned events:

CHARLESTON AREA

Avery Research Center, 125 Bull St., Charleston. Avery has a first-rate museum and many special programs. Author Eugene Frazier Sr. will discuss his book “James Island: Stories from Slave Descendants” at 6 p.m. Feb. 15. www.cofc.edu/avery; (843) 953-7609

Charles Pinckney National Historical Site, 1254 Long Point Road, Mount Pleasant. The Gullah Heritage Series features special programs at 2 p.m. every Saturday in February and March. www.nps.gov/chpi; (843) 881-5516

Boone Hall Plantation, 1235 Long Point Road, Mount Pleasant. You can tour one of the few remaining slave streets, with cabins built around 1800. A special program during February includes a Gullah Theater presentation twice on Sundays and three times Mondays through Saturdays. www.boonehallplantation.com; (803) 884-4371

Charleston Museum, 360 Meeting St., Charleston. Gullah Galore, with basket weavers and storytellers, is Feb. 10. Introduction to Africa on Feb. 24 features music, crafts and samples of food spiced by the African influence on the Lowcountry. www.charlestonmuseum.org; (843) 722-2996

Drayton Hall, 3380 Ashley River Road, Charleston. Special programs every Saturday during February at the oldest preserved plantation in America open to the public. www.draytonhall.org; (843) 769-2600

Middleton Place, 4300 Ashley River Road, Charleston. Beyond The Fields exhibit and African-American Focus tours daily at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. www.middletonplace.org; (843) 556-6020

BEAUFORT AREA

Penn Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, St. Helena Island. Black History Month exhibits run all month at the York W. Bailey museum; showing of documentary “Remembering the Life of Roberts Smalls” Feb. 15-16, including tour of Smalls’ home; community sing at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18. www.penncenter.com; (843) 838-2432

Shelter Cove Park, Hilton Head Island. A Total Gullah Experience, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 17 and noon-5 p.m. Feb. 18 with arts, crafts and food. (843) 689-9314

Gullah/Geechee Nation, St. Helena Island. De Gullah Root Experience Living History Tour at 10 a.m. Feb. 13 and Feb. 28; book signing at 4 p.m. Sunday, at Barnes and Nobles on U.S. 278 in Hilton Head. (843) 838-1171

Reach Holleman at (803) 771-8366.