Sacred Heart Cultural Center is a beautiful 125-year-old former Catholic Church located in the heart of Augusta. “We were a practicing Catholic Church for about 100 years until 1971 when the church was closed and went through a formal ceremony called deconsecration, which means we’re no longer considered holy space by the Catholic Church,” says Millie Huff, Executive Director at Sacred Heart. “The congregation was merged with two other Catholic churches in the downtown area and the building was left vacant for about 16 years.” Sacred Heart was on the verge of destruction before the property was purchased and over two years were spent restoring it. In 1987 it was reopened as a cultural center and is now run by a nonprofit organization that continues the preservation of the building.
“It’s definitely a labor of love to take care of it and keep it up. It requires quite a bit of money to keep it open and operational just because it’s an old historic building that needs a lot of upkeep,” says Millie. “We support ourselves in a number of ways: We have a little gift shop, we keep our art gallery filled with local and regional art, and our primary way of supporting ourselves year-round is by renting out the space that was the sanctuary, now referred to as the great hall.”
“We also do special events throughout the year that benefit us and the one that’s coming up this spring is the Garden City Festival at Sacred Heart. We have done this every spring for more than twenty years and it is just a beautiful way of celebrating springtime,” says Millie. At the Garden City Festival activities will take place at Sacred Heart Cultural Center and off campus. At Sacred Heart, there are two outside Garden Parties, vendors, speakers that cover all topics related to gardening and home, and more! “We also have pop-up demos so somebody who is new to gardening can learn something like how to create a composting pile or how to create a pot garden. Something that’s not just for advanced gardeners, but for somebody who is just getting started,” says Millie.
On Seedling Saturday, kids can experience gardening with hands-on activities. They will learn about planting sprouted seeds, making seed balls, and learning different ways to start seeds and enjoy other gardening activities. Attendees will also have the opportunity to tour five local private gardens.
Sacred Heart Cultural Center, which is located at 1301 Greene Street in Augusta, offers free tours to the public throughout the week. For more information about Sacred Heart Cultural Center, the Garden City Festival, or to purchase tickets, visit sacredheartaugusta.org. Stay up to date on what Sacred Heart Cultural Center is doing by following them on Facebook and Instagram.