The Dillon County Theatre continues their 2022-2023 season in February and March with presentations from the South Carolina Department of Humanities Speakers Bureau, local leaders, and a gala event.
On February 02, 2023, Dr. Nancy D. Tolson will present “Black Southern Folklore- Storytelling.” In recognition of Black History Month, this program is an exploration and celebration of the art of storytelling through the tales founded in the southern states of the U.S. with specific origins from South Carolina.
Nancy D. Tolson is the assistant director of the African American Studies Program at the University of South Carolina. She received a MA and PhD from the University of Iowa, researching the history and development of Black children’s literature and Black folklore. Tolson has been a Ford Fellow, NEH facilitator, Fulbright scholar/lecturer at the University of Cape Coast (Ghana), and an Illinois Humanities’ “Road Scholar”. She has been a storyteller for as long as she has been able to talk and is proudly a storyteller at the Augusta Baker’s Dozen Storytelling Festival (Columbia, SC) since 2015.
The two offerings in March begin on Thursday, March 2 with “Let’s Grow Dillon County”, featuring speakers from the Clemson Extension Center. On Thursday, March 9, the SC Humanities series continues with “Gone with the Wind to Steel Magnolias: In Search of the Real Southern Woman” featuring Dr. Alice Taylor-Colbert. This entertaining presentation, based on the presenter’s research on Southern women, explores the 19th-century myth of “the Southern lady” and its predominance in popular culture then and now in contrast to the realistic qualities of diverse women of the South from the past into the present. Audience participation is encouraged.
Dr. Alice Taylor-Colbert earned Masters’ and Ph.D. degrees in American Studies from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She served 5 universities as an American history and public history professor and academic administrator. From 1988 to 2020, she served as an editorial board member of the Journal of Cherokee Studies. In 2004 she participated in a Fulbright-Hayes summer program in South Africa. Taylor-Colbert is a museum curator and archivist and former president of the Georgia Association of Historians. She currently serves on the boards of the South Carolina Historical Association and the Georgia Trail of Tears Association. As an independent consultant, Taylor-Colbert works with South Carolina Humanities on Development and Strategic Initiatives.
All of the speaker presentations begin at 07:00 pm at the theatre’s historic location, 114 N MacArthur Avenue, in downtown Dillon. Seating is open, no reservations are needed, and there is no charge to attend.
On March 16, 2023, the theatre will hold it is Annual Gala at Twin Lakes Country Club, with a celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. This event will begin at 6:30 pm, featuring a reception and entertainment. Tickets for the gala are $25 each and may be purchased from Dillon County Theatre Board Members .
(CREDIT FOR PHOTOS AND BIOS: SC HUMANITIES)
