The 3-day N.C. Rice Festival highlights these 5 events happening in Brunswick

Cheryl M. Whitaker, Wilmington StarNews
·3 min read

N.C. Rice Festival: 'Ancestor reveal'

The N.C. Rice Festival, in conjunction with AfricanAncestry.com, will help local residents explore the significance of their ancestral origins connecting them to rice-growing regions of West Africa’s “Rice Coast." The event is 6-8 p.m. Thursday, March 2 at the Navassa Community Center, 338 Main St., Navassa. Free, open to the public.

N.C. Rice Festival: Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage gala

The N.C. Rice Festival will host a Gullah Geeche Cultural Heritage gala on March 3 featuring a mouth-watering Gullah Geechee-inspired menu served by chef Keith Rhodes.
The N.C. Rice Festival will host a Gullah Geeche Cultural Heritage gala on March 3 featuring a mouth-watering Gullah Geechee-inspired menu served by chef Keith Rhodes.

The N.C. Rice Festival will host a Gullah Geeche Cultural Heritage gala from 6-10 p.m. Friday, March 3 at the Leland Cultural Arts Center, 1212 Magnolia Village Way, Leland. The event will be a dinner and VIP reception featuring renowned folklore troupe, Gullah Kinfolk, and a mouth-watering Gullah Geechee-inspired menu served by award-winning chef and festival culinarian Keith Rhodes, owner of Catch restaurant in Wilmington.

Tickets available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-2023-north-carolina-gullah-geechee-heritage-dinner-gala-tickets-497177580527.

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Fish fry

The VFW Calabash Post #7288 is hosting its annual Fish Fry on Fridays. The fish fry will be held 4:30-6 p.m. Friday, March 3 at 900 Carter Drive, Calabash. The cost is $13 a plate, which consists of an 8-to-10-ounce fried Haddock filet, baked potato, slaw. Clam chowder is also available for $3. Tickets are available at the door.

N.C. Rice Festival

The N.C. Rice Festival will hold an indoor/outdoor celebration, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, March 4 at the Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson Historic Site, 8884 St. Philip's Road, S.E., Winnabow. The festival will feature history and cultural presentations, tours and demonstrations, live music and entertainment, family fun activities, a children’s stage, arts and crafts vendors, and food trucks.

Participants can learn about the historical impact of rice cultivation in southeastern North Carolina, the northernmost hub of the federally established Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor.

Share in the celebration of the region’s diverse cultural heritages and traditions, especially the contributions of the West Africa-originating Gullah Geechee people and their descendants to the extraordinary growth and importance of Brunswick County, one of North Carolina’s most productive rice-growing regions dating back to the 1700s.

The event is free and open to the public.

Opera Sunday: Mozart, Musicals and More

Opera Sunday will be held at the Southport Community Building.
Opera Sunday will be held at the Southport Community Building.

Opera Sunday: Mozart, Musicals and More, presented by Friends of the Library Southport & Oak Island and Southport, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 5 at the Southport Community Building, 223 E. Bay St., Southport. A reception will follow.

Join Nancy King and Elizabeth Stovall, the talented singer-actors of the UNC WOOP! (UNCW's Opera Outreach Project) and the musical theater workshop class for an afternoon of favorite moments from opera and Broadway, accompanied by Bettsy Curtis.

The event is free and open to the public. Donations to UNC-WOOP! gratefully accepted.

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This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Things to do in Brunswick County: N.C. Rice Festival