City of Miami Commissioner kicks off Haitian Heritage Month with the Grand Opening of the Little Haiti Soccer Park
MIAMI – City of Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, joined by members of the Little Haiti community will officially kick-off Haitian Heritage month on Thursday, May 1st, at 10:00 a.m. at 260 NE 59 Terrace, the site of the new Little Haiti Cultural Complex.
During the press conference Commissioner Spence-Jones will be joined by the Mayor of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jean Yves Jason and other elected officials from the: City of Miami, Miami Dade County, North Miami, and North Miami Beach to announce the grand opening of the Little Haiti Soccer Park and the pre-opening of the Little Haiti Cultural Complex.
The Little Haiti Soccer Park and Cultural Complex is the first state-of-the-art-facility in the Little Haiti/Lemon City area. To celebrate the opening of the park, the City of Miami along with the Office of Commissioner Spence-Jones will host several events on May 3. Media attending the press conference will receive a listing of events and get a sneak preview of the art exhibition at the cultural complex.
Some of the events slated for the weekend will include: The 3rd annual Toussaint L’Ouverture parade; a soccer match between local teams from Miami and Haiti; a Haitian festival and a special ceremony honoring Commissioner Arthur E. Teele, Jr. and Haiti’s most celebrated soccer player, Mr. Emmanuel “Manno” Sanon.
The Little Haiti Soccer Park and Cultural Complex was funded by both the City of Miami and Miami Dade County. The total project cost is approximately $36.9 million of which the City of Miami contributed $29.6 million and Miami Dade County contributed $7.3 million.
The Little Haiti Soccer Park will feature both a practice field and a playing field, covered seating for 580 people, a tot lot complete with a jungle gym under a canopy, and a children’s water splash park. The Cultural Arts Complex will house an art gallery, several art studios, a dance studio, a music studio, a black box theater and 3 multi purpose rooms for educational and personal enrichment programs.
