No Dîner en Blanc in Haiti this August as hopes for stable Port-au-Prince vanish

CAP-HAITIEN — The most electrifying month in Cap-Haïtien has arrived at last and is slowly making ground to its tipping point in mid-August when local streets, bars, and beaches are filled with people attending different events nearly every night. Some of the familiar headlining events include Dekonekte, Okap Flavors,  and Haiti Sailing Cup. 

But surprisingly, the event that undeniably turned the most heads over the past two years will be a no-show this August — the popular all-white affair called Dîner en Blanc (DEB) in French. The absence of this iconic event in Cap-Haïtien leaves many residents disappointed, particularly young entrepreneurs who were betting on the arrival of thousands of Dîner en Blanc attendees from the Diaspora to boost their revenues.

“This is completely discouraging because Haitians are not really buying local products,” Steevens Veillard, manager of the clothing line Flannè, said. “It’s all the Diaspora. This is bad news.”

Last year,  they made about 250,000 gourdes, or approximately USD 1,395, after they displayed Flannè merchandise y at The Boulevard and Place Notre Dame for eight days during the same week Dîner en Blanc took place.

In February, however, when planning for the event would have been underway, gang violence in Port-au-Prince started to escalate as gangs teamed up to overthrow then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry. By the beginning of March, gangs attacked ports and attempted to take control of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, causing all commercial flights, to and from Port-au-Prince to be canceled. Prior to that in March, there was a major prison break in Port-au-Prince, facilitating thousands of inmates to escape and exacerbating the country’s security situation. When some flights resumed in May, ticket prices skyrocketed to as much as USD 1,000 for a one-way flight. The DEB team waited for prices to drop and for the situation in Port-au-Prince to stabilize before planning the event. 

Things improved in June but by then, the staff was cut short on time to hold the event in August, one of the organizers, Fabienne Alphone-Reid, said.

“It takes a long time and process to get venues confirmed in Haiti,” Alphonse-Reid said. “In August it would not have been possible as much as we were hoping it would. We kept hoping that it would and we kept working towards it for it to be possible. But we had to be realistic with the cards that were at hand.”

Alphone-Reid added that there was not enough time to get sponsors and support from Haitian government institutions, either. She hopes that the event will be held later this year, but there is no guarantee.

Dîner en Blanc, a global event, has been held three times in Cap-Haïtien and Haiti, in 2019, 2022 and 2023. The latest edition saw 1500 attendees of which 80 % of them were tourists. 

The prestigious event has generated USD 1.7 to USD 2.5 million yearly to different businesses in Cap-Haïtien such as hotels, restaurants, car rental companies and more, Alphonse-Reid said.

Attendees stay in Cap-Haïtien for between three to five days and during their visit hotels are usually sold out. Videos of the past three editions of attendees adorned in white singing Haitian music and dancing together have gone viral each year since they highlight that people still have fun in Haiti despite the political instability and gang violence in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.

Particularly in 2022, videos of revelers holding sparkling lights went viral. That year’s edition underscored that the gang violence is only concentrated in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas and that in the provinces people are functioning normally and living life.

Despite the cancellation or postponement of Dîner en Blanc, other events in August could show positive aspects of Haiti during the month-long celebration of Cap-Haitïen’s anniversary. Some of the events that are the most anticipated are the first edition of Karabela, a ball at Palais Sans-Souci, the Grand Fair of Notre Dame, and a rara festival.

The post No Dîner en Blanc in Haiti this August as hopes for stable Port-au-Prince vanish appeared first on The Haitian Times.