Irvin Campbell
Irvin Campbell in Local Life Magazine, wearing Binya’s shirt
Irvin Campbell grew up on Hilton Head Island and throughout his life, has looked forward to involving the community and good food. Whether it be barbecues, afternoon get-togethers, or parties, he’s never felt bored. His uncle, Soloman, would throw picnics together every year for the neighborhood kids and those were considered legendary amongst the community.
Irvin has decided to keep this community based tradition going by throwing some of the largest gatherings on the island. These parties are a family effort that started with Irvin and his siblings. These quickly grew to be community filled events that were packed and had a menu that was to die for! 2019 was the most recent party he held pre-pandemic. Last year, though, Irvin hosted 50 people just in his house alone for this Christmas spirit filled festivity.
The menu included shrimp and grits, oyster stew, and salmon croquette, which Irvin woke up to cook all of very early on Christmas morning. His brothers pitched in with some dishes as well as fruit bowls, while cousin Soloman brought a nice dish, while his niece, Deborah, cooked bacon and sausage.
Of course, a family cooking together means competitive nature, and you can bet there is some teasing about each other’s techniques or cooking style. Irvin says he enjoys the competitive nature of it all, as its all in good fun, and these things really do remind him of family. Outsiders may look at this sometimes and think its malicious, but a second later everyone is in high spirits, and laughing like they’d never laughed before.
As if the cooking side of the family wasn’t enough, around 9am, a mass of Campbells arrives on Christmas from different stretches of the world. He loves this time of year because he's able to catch up with the family he doesn’t get to see very often, and its always nice to talk about traditions that the family still celebrates. The tradition of being well fed on Christmas is one that every Campbell stands by, whether that means traveling to each other’s homes, or hosting themselves.
As a true native islander, Irvin Campbell is widely community based. He stands to carry all of his older family’s traditions, as well as the new ones. He also happens to be the uncle of Binya’s owner, Lola, who he proudly supports in her endeavors. In his Local Life article, He is seen wearing one of her Binya shirts! This shirt, Binya, pays homage to the store name and meaning — which in Gullah means, “been here.” Uncle Irvin definitely has been here and wears it proudly!