Ninth Annual March Forth to Be Held on March 1 & 2 in Port Royal, Beaufort, and St. Helena Island

Our Conroy Center’s ninth annual March Forth will be held on Saturday, March 1, and Sunday, March 2, with educational programs in Beaufort, Port Royal, St. Helena Island, and online. This special event commemorates the anniversary of Pat Conroy’s passing on March 4, 2016, by engaging with major themes of his writing and teaching life, including social justice, inclusivity, conservation, education, truth-telling, and storytelling.

Learn more and register in advance at Eventbrite

March Forth will include appearances by:

• Ashley Hope Pérez: YA novelist, educator, advocate, and editor of Banned Together: Our Fight for Readers’ Rights
• Kimberly Brock: novelist, past Georgia Author of the Year, and author of The Fabled Earth, a finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction
• Edda L. Fields-Black: professor of history and director of the Dietrich College Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University, author of Combee: Harriet Tubman, The Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom During the Civil War
• Katherine Freeman: National Park Service Ranger with the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park
• Jake Zadik: Brays Island naturalist, nature photographer, and cofounder of South Carolina Partners of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (SCPARC)
• Juliana Zadik: naturalist, educator, and Beaufort County Long-Range Environmental Planner
• Dana Ridenour: retired FBI undercover special agent, author of the Lexie Montgomery series
• Eugene A. Rugala: retired FBI “profiler,” behavioral science consultant and author
• DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization

This year, March Forth is hosted by Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and nationally recognized youth advocate Julia Garnett.

March Forth is presented in collaboration between the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center, Penn Center, NeverMore Books, the Port Royal Farmers Market, the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park, and DAYLO: Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization.

~EVENTS FOR SATURDAY MARCH 1~

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.: Reconstruction Era National Historic Park Tours
Explore the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park locations in Beaufort, Port Royal, and St. Helena. Free. See Details Here.

9:30 a.m. to Noon: Read with a Ranger and Teddy Bear Picnic at the Port Royal Farmers Market
Student volunteers from DAYLO (Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization) will be reading children’s picture books to young readers and their families, with light snacks provided. DAYLO students will be joined by National Park Service Ranger Katherine Freeman from the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park for a special read-aloud, Read with a Ranger. This free event will be held near the gazebo at the Port Royal Farmers Market (1615 Ribaut Rd, Port Royal). No registration needed.

10:00 a.m. to Noon: Demythologizing the FBI: What Writers Get Wrong, Workshop Led by Dana Ridenour and Eugene A. Rugala
Join retired FBI undercover special agent turned novelist Dana Ridenour and retired FBI “profiler” turned consultant Eugene A. Rugala for a workshop for writers (and interested readers) about what FBI work is really like–and what novels and films get wrong. $60/person, limited to 20 attendees. Held at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Register in advance at Eventbrite.

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Penn Center’s York W. Bailey Museum Tours
Explore Penn Center and the York W. Bailey Museum (16 Penn Center Circle West, St. Helena Island). Docent-led tours available. $15-$20/person.

Noon to 4:00 p.m.: Pat Conroy Literary Center Tours
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort) is open for free public tours, guided by volunteer docents.

5:00 to 6:00 p.m.: Facebook Live Interview with Ashley Hope Pérez, Editor of Banned Together, in Conversation with Jonathan Haupt and Julia Garnett

Ashley Hope Pérez’s 2015 YA novel Out of Darkness won a Printz Honor and the Tomás Rivera Book Award—and it as one of the top ten most banned books of 2021. Pérez will discuss her new anthology Banned Together: The Fight for Reader’s Rights (to be published on March 4) in conversation with Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and Banned Books Week Honorary Youth Chair Julia Garnett. This free virtual event will be live-streamed to the Conroy Center’s Facebook page and available to watch through Monday, March 3, at 6:00 p.m. No registration required.

~EVENTS FOR SUNDAY MARCH 2~

All Sunday events are ticketed (Eventbrite)and held at Penn Center’s Frissell Hall, 16 Penn Center Circle West, St. Helena Island. Nature walk: $10/person. Catered lunch + two author presentations: $30.

• 9:30-10:00 a.m.: Attendee check-in.
• 10:00-11:30 a.m.: Birding and nature walk of Penn Center led by husband and wife naturalists Jake and Juliana Zadik. Approximately 1 mile. $10/person; limited to 40 participants.
• 11:30 to Noon. Catered lunch by Magnolia’s Cafe. Included in $30/person registration.
• Noon to 1:00 p.m.: Presentation by Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black, professor of history and director of the Dietrich College Humanities Center at Carnegie Mellon University, author of Combee: Harriet Tubman, The Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom During the Civil War. Included in $30/person registration.
• 1:00 to 1:30 p.m.: Book signing break with NeverMore Books.
• 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.: Conversation with Kimberly Brock: novelist, past Georgia Author of the Year, and author of The Fabled Earth, a finalist for the Townsend Prize for Fiction–interviewed by Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and Banned Books Week Honorary Youth Chair Julia Garnett. Included in $30/person registration.
• 2:30-3:00 p.m.: Book signing break with NeverMore Books.
• 3:00 p.m.: Closing remarks