News Release

Carver Day 2024

NPS

News Release Date: May 29, 2024

81st Annual Carver Day Celebration at
George Washington Carver National Monument

DIAMOND – George Washington Carver National Monument is pleased to announce the annual Carver Day Celebration to be held on Saturday, July 13, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Carver Day celebrates the life of George Washington Carver and the establishment of the national monument in his honor. This year we are commemorating the 81st anniversary of George W. Carver’s passing and the subsequent establishment of the national park on July 14, 1943, the first one to honor an African American. The event is free of charge. 

Guest speakers include Dr. Edith Powell, retired college professor of immunology and hematology at Tuskegee University. Powell will give a presentation on her recent book entitled, More Than Peanuts, The Unlikely Partnership of Tom Huston and George Washington Carver. Alex Sandy Primm, oral historian, and speaker with the Missouri Humanities Council Speakers Bureau Program, will share a presentation entitled Missouri’s Natural Heroes, which includes George Washington Carver. 

Music is a huge part of the Carver Day fun. Musical performers this year include Arlecia Elkamil. Arlecia is a multi-instrumentalist and singer. Jahfi Studio, St. Louis, Missouri will perform traditional West African dance and drum rhythms. St. Monica Music Ministry of Kansas City, Missouri will also join us. Under the direction of Melvin Kerr, the choir consists of members of the St. Monica Catholic Church and other individuals in the local community. We welcome back to the music tent this year the gospel singing group Sensational Wonders. Lem Sheppard, a local jazz, blues and folk musician who traces the history of African American music from both the North and South. Lem will perform African American music and stories from George Washington Carver’s lifetime and share the African American experience with visitors. Local church choirs will also be invited to perform. 

Carver Day is also a time for kids to explore the park and connect to the child who was born here over 150 years ago. There will be guided tours, Junior Ranger activities, and more. The Diamond Lions Club will provide food concessions.  

Carver Day celebrates the African American experience through speakers, storytelling, music, and educational programs. In keeping with Carver’s legacy of accessible and affordable education, Carver Day, like all our programs, is free of charge. Carver Day is presented in partnership with the Carver Birthplace Association. 

Administered by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior, George Washington Carver National Monument preserves the birthplace and childhood home of George Washington Carver - scientist, educator, and humanitarian. The park is located two miles west of Diamond, Missouri on Highway V, then ¼ mile south on Carver Road. For more information, please call the park at 417-325-4151 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.