"A lot of people came out to represent from the Red
and Blue," she said, referring to the Haitian flag colors. "It's
wonderful to be sharing ideas and culture."

Brown was among
over 150 people who met at Union Square Plaza for La Grande Fête: A
Celebration of Haitian Culture, sponsored by the Somerville Arts
Council as part of its ArtsUnion project series, and in conjunction
with the Haitian Coalition.

The event included Haitian music and
dance, art, literature readings, a documentary viewing, authentic
Haitian cuisine catered by local restaurants and a Haitian food table
lined with traditional ingredients used in Creole cooking.

Brown
is the director of Books of Hope, an organization at the Mystic
Learning Center that creates opportunities for self-expression and
advocacy through creative writing for young people. Teenagers like
Jessica Jean-Louis, 18, who presided over the Books of Hope table at
the festival, get together on Thursday nights to write. A group of
young Haitian writers from Books of Hope read their work from the stage
on Sunday night.

"It's good for the Haitian community to come
out and to celebrate our shared culture," Jean-Louis said. Jean-Louis
never used to take her writing very seriously, until she joined the
group. Working with others encouraged her to improve upon her writing
and appreciate the skill. After three years being in the program and
participating in public readings, she doesn't get nervous anymore. It's
all about communicating ideas.

Brown added that it was
wonderful to see the half dozen Haitian teens come to the event. It's
important for them to celebrate their heritage since they tend to
assimilate quickly and adopt American traditions, more so than their
parents.

Carey Dardompre, a local artist, liked that the event
was family oriented and less raucous than some ethnic festivals around
town. It was also nice to see familiar faces in the square, as he used
to have a gallery down the road in Cambridge.

"It's great to
see people express themselves through singing, drumming, writing and
painting," said Jean Brice, who sat at a Haitian paintings table.
"Tonight we celebrate our culture through art."

Marie Louise
Jean-Baptiste, who moved to the United States from Haiti in 1982 and
who teaches Haitian cooking classes, appreciated the Haitian food
table. Judith Laguerre, who volunteered to teach people about Haitian
cooking, displayed the traditional Haitian ingredients that one will
find in just about any dish: hot peppers, sweet bell peppers, garlic,
shallots, chives and parsley. Laguerre also displayed Haitian
specialties, like djon-djon mushrooms and malanga and ńame roots.

Jean-Baptiste
looked over the table approvingly, relating to the importance of
Laguerre's traditional method of making everything painstakingly from
scratch.