Festival set for July 27 in Mount Pleasant
The 20th-annual Sweetgrass Festival in Mount Pleasant is the perfect place to better understand the multi-generational artistry, history and heart behind the region’s signature craft. Using sweetgrass to craft baskets dates back to the 1700s, a tradition that has been kept alive in Mount Pleasant for more than 300 years.
“I think it’s good for the culture to spread basket-weaving [knowledge] among the people,” said artisan William Rouse of Mount Pleasant. A fourth generation sweetgrass basket maker at Charleston City Market, Rouse has been making baskets for the past 73 years. He says he’s passing his skills down to his daughter to keep the tradition alive, as his mother did when she taught him.
Established in 2004, the annual Sweetgrass Festival highlights the Gullah Geechee people’s history and cultural impact in Mount Pleasant and the Charleston area while showcasing what makes the community so special. Alongside sweetgrass basket vendors, the festival will offer stage performances, cooking demonstrations and sweetgrass basket-making demonstrations.
“This is history,” said basket weaver Letha Mae German-Brown of Mount Pleasant. “It’s something that should be cherished and kept going.”
German-Brown, who sells baskets at the City Market and on U.S. Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant, said she started weaving at age 4 and has been carrying on the tradition for 63 years. As another fourth-generation basket weaver, she is passing her knowledge down to her children and nine of her grandkids.
The 20th annual Sweetgrass Festival will take place 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 27 at Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park. More info: https://experiencemountpleasant.com/events/sweetgrass-festival
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