Historic Columbia’s annual Jubilee Festival moves online

The tradition of coming together to celebrate South Carolina’s Black history and culture will carry on; however, this year Historic Columbia’s 42 annual Jubilee: Festival of Black History & Culture will be held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing recommendations.

Television station WACH Fox 57 will produce the event, which will take place online from noon-3 p.m. Sept. 19.

Guests can take part in the event by tuning into jubileesc.org, wach.com, and the digital channel WACH 57.2. The event will also be available on the WACH Fox mobile app and the STIRR app.

“While we are disappointed that we will not be able to host Jubilee in person this year, Historic Columbia is committed to the celebration of Black creatives, past and present,” said Robin Waites, executive director for Historic Columbia. “We are excited to partner with WACH FOX 57 to make the event accessible on a free platform to our community and beyond.”

The three-hour festival will feature a virtual tour of the Mann-Simons Site and a preview of new exhibits at the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House.

Viewers will get a chance to hear from generations of Columbia activists as they share their stories of inspiration and achievement from the 20th century to today’s Black Lives Matter movement.

Highlighting the list of musical guests is Matt Monday. The previously named Best Hip-Hop Artist by the Charleston City Paper, Monday has opened for such artists as Warren G, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Pastor Troy, Wiz Khalifa and J. Cole. The Charleston native has built a loyal fan base since the release of his first long play album “Chaos Theory” in 2009.

Singer and songwriter AE the Cool from Augusta, Ga., will also be featured. AE the Cool has released two albums, including “Dora’s Soul,” her latest EP that connects her ancestors and community with the present day struggles of navigating the world as a Black woman. Each song, according to the album’s description, “provokes a different characteristic, a different emotion, and a different call to action.”

Other acts include hip-hop artist Anfernee and music group IndigoSOUL. A Florence native and Charleston product, Anfernee tells his personal story of struggle and triumph through his uniquely woven tracks. IndigoSOUL is a Columbia-based trio of Katrina Blanding, Terrance Henderson and Kendrick Marion recently featured by the Free Times and Richland Library.

The audience will also be treated to a demonstration in weaving sweetgrass baskets from renowned artist Mary Graham-Grant.

Jubilee, Columbia’s longest running festival, is a free event and made possible by sponsors Bank of America, Palmetto Citizens Credit Union, The Links Inc., Providence Health, Publix, Delta Research and Education Foundation, The Big DM and Hot 103.9.

For more information, go to JubileeSC.org.

This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Historic Columbia’s annual Jubilee Festival moves online."