Riceboro residents and visitors will gather in the city again Saturday to celebrate the 10th annual RiceFest.
Events have been ongoing and the Homecoming Dance and Social is Friday evening. The big day, however, is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The event pays homage to the history and people of Riceboro, while providing a fun, family-friendly festival for the coastal region.
Eventgoers will experience food, music and history of the Gullah/Geechee people whose ancestors once worked on rice plantations in Liberty County.
"RiceFest Day is an annual event that has a parade, rice cook-off, vendor row, kids zone and musical entertainment," said Councilmember Chris Stacy, 2016 RiceFest chairman. "Each year this event is held the second Saturday of November and it keeps getting bigger and bigger. We expect 3,000 to 4,0000 people to be here Saturday, even though we’ve had other events to celebrate Riceboro, like the pageant, GospelFest and homecoming dance."
This year’s theme is "City of Gold: Celebrating the Golden Years."
Saturday schedule:
9 a.m. Parade
10 Opening ceremony
10:15 Food and vendor booths open
10:50 Gospel music performance by First African Baptist Church Male Choir
11 Dance performance by Abeni Dancers
11:30 Monologue by Luciria Luckey-Lovette
11:45 Door prize drawings
Noon Presentation by historian Dr. Jamal Toure
12:30 p.m. R&B music performance by American Idol Season 13 contestant Jordan Brisbane
1 Awards for rice cook-off, essay contest and Miss Liberty RiceFest
1:30 Youth showcase by Inspiration Dance Studio
1:45 Blues music performance by Mike Shaver and Ripped Pocket
2:15 Gospel music performance by Nu Direction
2:45 Contemporary gospel music performance by national recording artist Ernest Pugh
3:15 Door prize drawings
3:30 Blues and soul music performance by national recording artist Clarence Carter
4:30 Food and vendor booths close
5 p.m. Event ends
RiceFest is sponsored by the city of Riceboro, Interstate Paper, SNF Holding, P.C. Simonton and Associates, Malinda Graham and Associates, PKP, ESG Operations and Seven Ministries.
For more information, visit www.ricebororicefest.com or call Stacy at 912-695-0481.