The free, 10th annual Little Haiti Book Festival (LHBF), presented by Sosyete Koukouy and Miami Book Fair this Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., is a one-stop shop for all things Haitian culture.
Following this year’s “Ansanm,” or together, theme and coinciding with Haitian Heritage Month, the festival will promote unity and focus on painting Haiti in a positive light by highlighting the cultural practices of its people, revisiting its history as the first free Black republic and celebrating forms of expression, including verbal and written language, music and art, used by Haiti’s people.
Performances and activities planned for Sunday at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex include musical performances by folk singer Inez Barlatier; a dance workshop led by the NSL Dance Ensemble; an art class led by artist Asser St. Val, real-life paintings created by Robohood robots in real time; a HistoryMiami Story booth; poetry workshops led by Fabienne Josaphat and Herold Pierre; yoga sessions; and storytelling by members of the Fanm Kreyòl Storytellers.
Fanm Kreyòl Storytellers, seen here holding books from the Ansanm Koleksyon, will share their work and words at Little Haiti Book Festival this Sunday.
Delphine Dauphin, a 14-year-old entrepreneur and founder of Joy’s Yummy Cupcakes by Delphine, will spearhead a “kidpreneur” workshop teaching young festivalgoers how to start, manage and market their business.
Vendors will table and sell hand-crafted merchandise and artwork at Little Haiti Book Festival this Sunday.
Artisans and other vendors will sell handcrafted items at the complex’s Caribbean Marketplace.
There will also be two panel discussions: one on the use of artificial intelligence in the arts and publishing spaces, and one on the complexities of reporting news from and about Haiti.
The 10th annual Little Haiti Book Festival will celebrate Haitian culture through literature, art, dance, music and artisanal crafts
“Each year, we have brainstorming sessions about the topics we want to cover in the panel discussions, and they’re usually topics that are of utmost importance to the community,” said M.J. Fievre, LHBF programming coordinator. “This year, we’re talking about Haiti’s representation in the media because so much has been going on there. While we have a lot of bad news coming from Haiti there’s also a lot of positivity, because Haiti is not just Port-au-Prince – but people tend to forget that. Other parts of the country are still inspiring and beautiful.”
Jacqueline Charles, the Miami Herald’s Caribbean correspondent, will moderate the Haiti in the Media panel, with Island TV co-owner Elizabeth Guerin, international media company Chokarella’s CEO Carel Pedre, and Haïti en Marche weekly newspaper founder Marcus Garcia as panelists.
NSL Dance Ensemble will lead a class this Sunday during Little Haiti Book Festival.
Dan Grech, BizHack founder; Carelia Alvarado, digital marketing consultant at The Online Bridge; and Yaddyra Peralta, director of people development and resources at Mango Publishing, will serve as panelists for the noon discussion on artificial intelligence.
Children can learn to play dominos and osselets, a cross between jacks and dice games played with knucklebones in Haiti, and piece together puzzles with images of Haitian historical figures and monuments.
In partnership with Bookleggers, the Miami-Dade Public Library System and The Children’s Trust, festivalgoers can take home books that catch their eye, some of which are written in Haitian Creole, French or Spanish.
Sony Laventure, founder of Konpa on the Rise Dance Studio, demonstrates Haitian Konpa dance moves at Little Haiti Book Festival last year.
“It’s important for us to be able to tell our story from our lens,” said Tico Armand, one of seven women authors from Fanm Kreyòl Storytellers. “Too long, we’ve allowed foreigners to tell our stories as Haitians but no one can tell or illustrate our stories in the way that we can. So now that we have this voice, we’re only going to amplify it and make sure that we’re not only seen, but heard and understood.”
Marie Barrett, author of “Libete Gen Bon Gou,” will be at this year’s Little Haiti Book Festival./
Armand will table at the festival with her 12-part “Adventures of Yaya” book series on Haitian culture, history and language, while Marie Barrett and three other group members will read aloud select stories penned by the women from the Ansanm book collection to children in the audience.
The collection features stories from historical points of view, spreads positive messages of embracing one’s identity and explains the importance of certain cultural foods, such as the Independence Day celebratory soup joumou dish. Books include “Libete Gen Bon Gou/Taste of Freedom,” “Pa Mete Jiwof, Tanpri/No Cloves, Please,” “Kakou Pote Viktwa/Kakou Wins,” “Ayiti Mwen We/The Haiti We See,” “Bo Jantiyes/A Cheeky Greeting,” “Nou Nwa & Nou Bel/We’re Black and We’re Beautiful” and “Mwen Ayisyen Ase/I’m Haitian Enough.”
“This collection holds significant importance, especially during this time, where Haiti is going through what it’s going through,” said Barrett. “These stories are love letters to remind us of who we are, to remind us that we are the first freedom fighters, that we are resilient, passionate and talented. It’s important to shed light on the beauty of Haiti while the country is going through what it’s going through because the reality is, if we don’t, who will?”
“What’s most important is for children to know that there are books out there that represent them, that they can see themselves in, that is in their mother tongue,” said Armand. “It brings you a sense of confidence and comfort that, at the end of the day, is what we seek most, because growing up, we didn’t see that. ‘Cinderella,’ ‘The Little Mermaid,’ all of them were Caucasian. That made me shy away from who I am.”
“There’s something for everyone and I’m not just saying this because I’m the coordinator. It’s really an exciting event and people really, really enjoy it,” said Fievre.