Photo By Sgt. Joshua Laidacker | Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment,...... read more read more
Subscribe
RICEBORO, Ga. - Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division marched in the Eighth Annual Riceboro Rice Festival parade Nov. 8 in Riceboro, Georgia.
The Riceboro Rice Festival, or Ricefest, is a celebration honoring rice farming and commemorates the legacy of the Gullah Geechee, a distinct ethnic group of the area who descend from enslaved Africans.
Spc. Austin Machado, an intelligence analyst with the Mustang Battalion, said being in the parade shows that the military is friendly.
"I don't mind coming out to support the local communities," he added.
"The military is an integral part of our community," said William Austin, mayor of Riceboro. "We're very pleased to have them here."
Austin said the event is all about the city's heritage, and he hopes it will continue to grow. He added the event was expected to have up to 4,000 visitors this year and that many of those attending were originally from the area, who were returning home for the festival.
"I have a brother who's coming from Atlanta today just to attend Ricefest," said Donald Lovette, chairman of the Liberty County Board of Commissioners. "There are very few places in America where you can get this kind of flavor."
The home territory of the Gullah Geechee, which are an integral part of the history of Riceboro and whose flavor is a big part of the food served at the festival, only extends from North Carolina to Florida.
"Rice is important to this region because, actually when this county was settled, that was one of the main commodities," said Austin, who said he was born only about a mile from where the festival was held.
"It was the center of the economy for a long time," he added.
Lovette, a native of Liberty County, said he enjoyed the event because it brought the community together.
"There's no way to have an event without the military involved," Lovette added. "You are intertwined in the fiber of what we are. When I turn right or left, military presence is there."
| Date Taken: | 11.08.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.12.2014 14:44 |
| Story ID: | 147621 |
| Location: | RICEBORO, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 146 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Mustangs support Riceboro Rice Festival, by SGT Joshua Laidacker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
