COLUMBIA, SC - Celebrating the rich cultural heritage and entrepreneurial spirit of one African-American family – who lived and worked on the same property for more than 140 years! Historic Columbia Foundation presents the 34th annual Jubilee: Festival of Heritage. This free, family-friendly event will be held on the grounds of the historic Mann-Simons Site, 1403 Richland Street (at Marion) on Saturday, August 18 from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Families and friends across the Midlands have been convening at Jubilee for decades to celebrate African-American heritage in a fun, festive environment. "Every year, my mom & I plan well in advance to attend Jubilee together," notes local young professional, Jernell Simmons. "It’s our ‘thing’!"

More than 3,000 guests attended the festival in 2011, which features a variety of activities including hands-on demonstrations, an array of musical entertainment, and vendors with African-influenced and traditional merchandise. This year, multi-generational crowds will enjoy the following:

• Live musical entertainment from headliner Frankie’s Blues Mission based in Atlanta, GA, the famously hot saxophonist Dante Lewis and Band and other performances ranging from gospel to R&B.

Other onstage activities include a children’s drumming workshop by the world traveling Nimbaya! drumming group, Natural Hair Demonstration and Fashion Expos.

• Hands-on demonstrations and craft tents from some of the region’s most skilled artists and craftsmen, including textile artist Arianne King-Comer. Other demonstration artists include the mesmerizing storyteller Kitty Wilson-Evans, as well as printmaking demos with Pat Kabore, Gullah quilting with Dorothy Montgomery, broom-making with Peter Werner, and sweetgrass basket weaving with Mary Graham-Grant.

• Free and Discounted Tours! Tour the Mann-Simons Site ($1 admission), take the celebrated bus tour, "Home places, work places, resting places: African-American Heritage Sites Tour" ($2), and be one of the first visitors to tour the Modjeska Simkins property since the Dependency Building was completed (free). This free tour will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the one-story Columbia cottage, once home to Modjeska Monteith Simkins, considered "the matriarch of Civil Rights activists of South Carolina."

• Don’t miss the Debut of the Outdoor Museum featuring Five Ghost Structures - NEW!

The Mann-Simons Site once housed a legendary lunch counter, grocery store and rental residences in addition to the cottage currently at the site. The new free Mann-Simons Outdoor Museum, featuring "Ghost Structures" or metal frames of buildings that once stood on the site, will debut at this year’s festival.

• Street Fair - An assortment of exhibitors, vendors, and purveyors of tasty food and drink will be on hand as well. Marion Street between Richland and Calhoun will be blocked off for this vibrant fair!

Applications for vendors are being accepted until August 10th. In honor of the Foundation’s 50th Anniversary, Vendor fees will be 50% off this year. For more information on the 2012 Jubilee: Festival of Heritage and for applications please visit www.HistoricColumbia.org or call 803.252.1770, ext. 26.