From Haiti to Homestead: day of culture

By PASCALE ETHEART
Herald Staff Writer

``We thought it would be nice for others to know that we have a culture, and that we have something to offer the community -- that's how the festival got started,'' said Micheline Ducena, executive director of the Haitian Organization of Women, the event organizer.

The day will also serve as a way to help the Haitian youth stay in touch with their culture, she said.

The festival, to be held from noon to 7 p.m., Saturday at Harris Field, U.S. 1 and Campbell Drive, has become a tradition in the city. Saturday also is Haiti's Flag Day -- a major holiday in the country.

Unlike the traditional carnival held in February in Haiti, the festival will not include decorated floats ridden by carnival kings and queens. Nevertheless, Ducena said, two kings and three queens will participate and represent the three population centers of Haitians in Dade County -- Homestead, Kendall/Perrine and North Miami. Two queens will also represent the African-American and Hispanic communities.