South Carolina: The Food We Celebrate

The South Carolina State Library is proud to present, South Carolina: The Food We Celebrate. Developed by the South Carolina State Museum and South Carolina Humanities, this new traveling exhibit celebrates iconic foods from communities around South Carolina.

South Carolina: The Food We Celebrate tells the story of selected foodways and how they are celebrated and shared. The State Museum and South Carolina Humanities collaborated with 22 organizations across SC to develop the content for the exhibit, highlighting 20 different iconic foodways such as BBQ, Chicken Bog, peaches and
more.

From okra, pecans grits and apples to oysters, chitlins, boiled peanuts and more, this exhibit explores the origins of these South Carolina traditions from the cultures that brought them here to how they've changed into the current dishes we celebrate today.

Through 22 vibrant panels, guests will travel from the Pee Dee, to the Upstate, the Low Country and the Midlands to see how each of these traditional southern foods are celebrated with festivals, eating contests, world records and more. Each panel dives deep into the history of each iconic dish or item, describing how its cooked, how it became a southern tradition or where it got its name from.

The exhibit is a part of a traveling exhibition program offered through the South Carolina State Museum. The Traveling Exhibitions Program gives galleries, museums, and art centers across South Carolina the opportunity to request the exhibit to tour their facilities. 


  • Through December 30th, 2024
  • 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays
  • South Carolina State Library
    1500 Senate Street
    Columbia, SC 29201

A display table in the State Library with a selection of books on different foods. In the background can be seen easels with posters describing South Carolina food traditions

Easels in the South Carolina State Library lobby with posters describing South Carolina food traditions

easels with posters describing more South Carolina food traditions

Upcoming Event

Cover of Coast Lines: A Poetry Anthology

Speaker at the Center: Readings from "Coast Lines: A Poetry Anthology"

April 22, 2025, 2:00 PM


Join us at our next Speaker at the Center series to celebrate National Poetry Month with readings from the new poetry anthology, "Coast Lines," edited by Daniel Cross Turner and Libby Bernardin. Lovely inside and out, this anthology features over 140 works by 50 poets exploring the manifold beauty and diversity of the South Carolina coastal plain, accompanied by over 50 stunning photographs of the region’s distinctive ecologies and wildlife by photographer Philip Wilkinson. 

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