Event
Big Percy Guinness World Records Celebration
Celebrate Corey Alston, maker of "Big Percy," a monumental sweetgrass basket that is a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title holder.
Event Date
Fri., Aug. 7, 2026 | 10:30 a.m. - Noon
You Are Invited to a Celebration!
On Friday, Aug. 7, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., the Museum will host a party and plaque presentation celebrating master artisan Corey Alston and his basket "Big Percy", the new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title holder for the largest sweetgrass basket.
The event is free to the public and will feature:
• A live performance by 2x Grammy Award-Winning members from "Ranky Tanky" Quiana Parler & Charlton Singleton
• Remarks from Corey Alston
• Treats provided by Sweet GG’s Bakery
This is a free event
About Corey Alston
Corey Alston is renowned Gullah Geechee Artist and is the maker of “Big Percy,” a nearly five-foot tall sweetgrass basket and one of the museum’s newest acquisitions. A fifth-generation basket weaver born and raised in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Alston is a direct descendant of enslaved Africans who helped shape the region’s unique cultural identity. His work continues the centuries-old tradition of sweetgrass basket weaving—a sacred and skilled artform passed down through generations. Mentored by legendary weaver Mary Jackson, Alston has emerged as one of the most respected stewards of Gullah Geechee heritage today.
Alston’s baskets have been commissioned by institutions including the Smithsonian, the Duke Endowment, the Charleston Visitors Center, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, and most recently, the International African American Museum (IAAM). By acquiring this new work, the State Museum reaffirms its commitment to celebrating contemporary artists whose roots and influence run deep in South Carolina.
About Ranky Tanky
Ranky Tanky is a two-time Grammy Award winning quintet from Charleston, South Carolina featuring Quiana Parler (vocals), Charlton Singleton (trumpet, vocals), Clay Ross (guitar, vocals), Kevin Hamilton (bass), and Quentin E. Baxter (drums, percussion). The group draws on the living well of Gullah music from the Sea Islands and carries it forward with jazz verve, gospel fire, blues feeling, and soul-deep groove.
Formed in 2016, Ranky Tanky broke through with a self-titled debut that rose to No. 1 on Billboard’s Jazz chart, proof that a music rooted in community could also top the national conversation. Coverage followed on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross and NBC’s TODAY, milestones that introduced Gullah’s cadences and stories to an even wider audience.
Good Time (2019) expanded the canon with originals inspired by tradition and earned the band its first Grammy for Best Regional Roots Music Album in 2020, the first time an album of Gullah music received that honor. In 2023, Ranky Tanky captured their onstage electricity with Live at the 2022 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and won the category again, becoming the most awarded group in its history.
As cultural stewards and world-class performers, the band has brought Gullah music to major platforms including PBS NewsHour and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #PlayAtHome.
