And there's lots happening! The cocowire team has not produced a newsletter since last year in October and posts on our home page, cocowire.net, have also declined, both thanks to you know what. That took over the news and it made so many events virtual. Not so interesting. Things are normalizing now. So are we. Look, below, at all the neat, interesting events happening in Palm Beach County (PBC) in May, including those related to Haitian Heritage Month and Haitian Flag Day. Some remain virtual. That's OK. (Mother's Day is also this month.)
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Haitian Heritage Month isn't 'official,' but it is celebrated in thousands of communities across the United States. It started in Boston in 1998 and then came here to PBC in 2001--where, along with the rest of south Florida, it is celebrated bigger and better each year than anywhere else. There are huge annual events happening, such as the 23nd annual Haitian Compas Festival, to be held in Miami May 14-16 (click here for info) and the PBC Library System's annual celebration, which starts this Friday and runs throughout the month. Click here for its list of events. Which are all virtual. The School District of PBC also recognizes the big month; see its efforts here. (That's where the picture, above, came from, btw!)
The international celebration of Haitian Flag Day is on May 18.
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Now in its 23rd year, the Afro Roots Fest is a month-long series of events that celebrate the people, music and culture of both the African continent and the Caribbean in different cities across south Florida. One of its major events happened this past Saturday--Florida-grown performer Roosevelt Collier with those from Cameroon and Ghana--but there are other events coming up. Next: on Saturday, May 15, in Doral, multi-faceted performer Vanya Allen will perform along with DJ Le Spam and the band, Venezonix, which plays Afro-Venezuelan music. Click here for the full event schedule--and to learn more about it. The Fest is a function of the Miami-based Community Arts & Culture, a nonprofit created in 2002 to foster an appreciation of different cultures by presenting their arts as a tool for learning. Learn more about it here.
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Learn More About Being In Business. For Free. |
The Minority & Small Business Boot Camp is an 11-session webinar series designed to provide to those types of businesses information critical to growth and success. The series began on April 7 and occurs, virtually, from 9 to 10 a.m. every other Wednesday through the end of summer. Next up this week Wednesday: Accessing Capital: How to Make Your Business Bankable. The series is sponsored by Orlando-based Enterprise Florida and the Florida SBDC Network in Pensacola with the local Black Chamber of Commerce of PBC as resource partner. To learn more about each, click the name. For more information on the Boot Camp, call 407-752-2488 or send an email here. And to sign up, click here. Did we say it's completely free? Yes.
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Programs, Support For the Young |
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Free Summer Camps through May 7 |
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PBC approves and financially supports dozens and dozens of camps countywide each year--and through May 7, this Friday, the entire list of camps is free! For more information and to see a full list of camps, click here. The three camps below are on the list--and are listed here because they're different. And interesting. One is organized and led by a municipality, the others by two different community nonprofit organizations.
All three are open to all PBC residents.
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Talented Teen Club
Whether students want to do it all summer or just as part of their daylong experience at a different camp, Youth Cosmetology is part of the summer-camp program at the Talented Teen Club in Greenacres. Founded in 2005, the Club seeks to teach students aged 10 to 16 the skills that will lead to self reliance and self confidence, the founder says, using hairstyling, manicuring and skin care to teach the skills that will lead to achievement in the personal care services industry. Or, to just doing their own self care very well! To learn more, call 561-649-1234, send an email here or visit its website here. And, to register, click here. |
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Riviera Beach YEP
The City's Youth Empowerment Program has lots of programs for the young, including its annual Summer Leadership Camp that begins, like the others, on June 21. For those aged 11 to 15, the camp will provide the lessons and experiences that lead to, well, leadership, including study related to STEM, robotics, reading/math remediation and science. And gardening. The camp is open to all PBC residents. For more information, call 561-840-0135 or send an email here. |
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SOS Community
Marching Band
The year-round band has been a hit in PBC, getting invited to perform across the state. The summer camp will be held in three locations this summer--two in Riviera Beach, one in WPB--and will serve children aged 5 to 15 years old. Participants don't have to have musical skills or instruments and will receive free rides to camp each day and free field trips each Friday. To learn more, call 561-331-5038 or send an email here. |
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Need help with child care, before, during or after school? The Early Learning Coalition of PBC provides financial assistance for child care and early learning through the state's School Readiness Program. The services are provided via approved application and, currently, there are waivers in place that relax application requirements, such as providing support for those who work but whose hours have been cut. So, apply! Scholarships are available for children up to age 12. Learn more about the program here and, to apply, click here.
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The monthly Business Networking Mixer happens on the first Wednesday of each month and, for May, the focus is on the policymakers in West Palm Beach (WPB). That includes the newest members Shalonda Warren, who had been director of the Sickle Cell Foundation of PBC and Treasure Coast, and Kelly Shoaf. They, and their colleagues, will be at CitySide Suites, a cool co-work space located in the city's historic Northwest neighborhood. There will be free drinks and light refreshments. Though the focus this month will be on service to the community by elected officials, the event is still about networking, so bring those business cards! To attend in person, click here to register; and to 'go' virtually, click here. The event is free and open to the public. As it is each month.
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Faith in a Fractured Nation Discussion on Thursday
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Protests, pandemic, politics. Lots going on, globally, and here in PBC. That's why the WPB Mental Health Coalition partnered on putting together this event, Faith in a Fractured Nation: Continuing the Conversation. It will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., virtually, on this Thursday, May 6. The event is free and will feature a series of local pastors taking the discussion forward. To learn more, call 561-660-8156 or send an email here.
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National Police Week: May 9-15 |
Established by a joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and protection of others. But what we were most interested in is the fact that, within PBC's 39 municipalities, there are four cities with men of color at the helm of the police department. That we know of. Are there others? Let us know here. Shown here are the police chiefs who spoke, together, at an importance-of-voting virtual event in October. They are: Chief Nathan Osgood of Riviera Beach; Chief Frank Adderley of WPB; Chief Michael Gregory of Boynton Beach; and Chief Javaro Sims of Delray Beach. If you see them, or any others who have committed to support us all, tell them: Happy National Police Week!
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Jazz On the Muck is Coming Up
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Live music, food and drinks, vendors--all in support of Thrive For A Change of the Palm Beaches, which is hosting the event. So, anyone who goes, keep that in mind: the event is free, but it's meant as a fundraiser to support Thrive, which is a hardworking, grassroots-focused, WPB-based nonprofit that works to help ex-felons become returning citizens. The event will be held in Belle Glade--where the Thrive founder, Tyron Hanna, is from originally--at the City's Torry Island Campground & Marina. He and his good friend Kevin Brown are hosts and, of course, will be onsite. Tell them thanks for all they do! Questions? Visit their social media pages here (Tyron) and here (Kevin).
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Tropical Coolerfest is Back! |
On the last Sunday of this month, the biggest evening-long, Caribbean-themed outdoor party in PBC returns to the Meyer Amphitheatre in WPB. Now in its sixth year, Tropical Coolerfest is a 21-and-over event for those mature, young professionals in south Florida with a passion for the music of the diaspora: Soca, Reggae, R&B and Kompas, which is provided by DJs and live performers. This time, already scheduled, globally known comedian Majah Hype will also perform, telling his jokes and playing his music. So bring those coolers full of your own cocktail mixes and be your own bartender! Tickets range from $35 general admission to $600 for the ultimate space, the VIP Cabana. Click here for more ticket information and, here, to visit the official event website.
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Men of Excellence in June
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We love this. The ladies of the WPB chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority are hosting the annual Men of Excellence Awards. Not ladies of excellence; men. The event doesn't happen until next month, but these men deserve the recognition--especially attorney Grasford Smith, who is the president of the Black Chamber of Commerce of PBC, and, of course, Jervonte Edmonds, the young, hardworking founder of the nonprofit Suits For Seniors who is also, today, director of the WPB Police Athletic League. The event will be held virtually and costs $40 per ticket. Learn more here, including sponsorship opportunities.
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A Celebration of Malcolm X |
The regularly held Community Blackout Market is hosting something else: a celebration of Malcolm X, the American Muslim who had been active in the Civil Rights Movement. The daylong event will be held on Saturday, May 22, is free and open to the public and will be held at the RBG House--as in red, black and green, as in the colors of Africa--and will feature live performances, a variety of vendors, raffles and, even, a kids area. The point, says Nyota King, owner of All About Us LLC, which sells authentic African wares and is an event sponsor, is to learn more. “There were things Malcolm X believed in that we need to know,” she said. “It’s all about us.” For more information, including about volunteering, sponsoring or becoming a vendor, click here, send an email here or call 561-889-8681. And to buy some cool, authentic African attire and accessories to wear to the big event, click here.
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And Speaking of History and Heritage |
Debrah S. Hall-McCullon recently published the third edition of her all-things-Riviera Beach book, Riviera Beach Moments. What began in 2017 as periodic posts on social media has now become a best-selling book series. And underneath it all: her love—and knowledge—of her city. The longtime City employee was born and raised in the coastal community, which is where the knowledge comes from of telling the stories of the city’s people, places and history. The books contain all aspects of the city, including both its east- and west-side communities, but it also highlights those who live primarily on the west: the people of color. The books are being sold on Amazon; click here to check them out. Mrs. McCullon’s work was also highlighted in WPEC Channel 12’s Faces of Black History series in February during Black History Month—check it out here—and she was the featured guest that month on our 30-minute, every-Wednesday talk show, cocochats, on the young, Caribbean-themed radio station, SupaJamz 103.7 FM. Click here to listen. “It is important for people to know and preserve history because it gives them a better understanding of the world, and the city, in which they live,” Mrs. McCullon said, “and plus, it was fun!”
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What Else in the African Diaspora is Happening in Palm Beach County? |
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Got News & Events to Share? Tell Us Here! |
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