Island SPACE Welcomes Kids and Families to Meet Trickster Spider Man Anancy at Annual Festival

On Saturday, June 24th, Island SPACE Caribbean Museum hosted its annual Anancy Festival in celebration of Caribbean folklore. During this event, originally founded by Xavier Murphy of Jamaicans.com and Dr Andrea Shaw, children and adults were invited to learn about the story of the Trickster God Anancy, one of the most well-known animal characters of West Indian and African folklore. Anancy is a cunning character, with stories of his antics often ending in valuable life lessons.

At the start of the event, families were welcomed into the museum’s event space. The children colored images of Anancy created by artists from event partner organization NABU, a group that creates reading materials for children in Haitian Kreyol and English languages. Parents were guided to the main area by Mrs. T&T, where they waited for the arrival of Mrs. Anancy, who was played by the lovely Queen Maxine, and “Bredda ‘Nancy,” played by Hugh ?Patrick” Brown.

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With everyone gathered around, captivating stories of Anancy began. Some described Anancy?s life, and how he used his cunning intellect to bring good and bad fortune to those around him. Others told of his origins and how he was transformed from a man to a spider in the first place.

In one story, Anancy tricks people into uttering a witch’s name in order to get food for him and his family. Anancy?s greed gets the better of him, causing him to get caught by the witch. The stories taught lessons about perseverance, facing challenges, and the ability to triumph no matter what is thrown at you. Afterwards, guests were invited to share characters of folklore from their own countries.

After the storytelling, the children, played ring games and board games, and participated in arts and crafts, where they made versions of Anancy that they were able to decorate and put together on their own. Guests enjoyed a refreshment break with snacks and drinks sponsored by Grace Foods, featuring new flavors of Grace Tropical Rhythms, Ovaltine biscuits and Grace Coconut Water.  

Next was one of the festival’s main events: the parade! The children put on straw hula skirts, donned lei necklaces, and prepared to start the exciting walk through the mall. With a stilt walker, known in the Caribbean as a “Mocko Jumbie,” and a Junkanoo costumed dancer as their guide, the parade of children made their way out of the museum and into the central area of the mall. Customers going about their business or enjoying other activities in the mall’s day of celebrating Caribbean culture, stopped to record and some even joined in the festivities, as our arching song “Follow The Leader” echoed down the halls. The parade stopped in the main, central area of the mall, where a DJ played popular Caribbean music, and the kids, parents and observers danced and had a ball. After the fun spectacle, the parade made its way back to the museum.

Back at the museum, Island SPACE President Ms. Calibe Thompson led a free, kid friendly tour of the museum. Additional ring games, stories and crafting sessions took place later in the day.

As the event came to a close, guests were invited to explore the museum on their own, and keep a lookout for the trickster Anancy.

About the Museum

Island SPACE is supported in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, Florida Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, Florida Power & Light Company, Grace Foods, Broward Mall, the Broward County Cultural Division and the following Funds at the Community Foundation of Broward: Mary N. Porter Community Impact Fund, Jack Belt Memorial Fund, Ginny and Tom Miller Fund, Stearns Weaver Miller Fund for the Arts, Harold D. Franks Fund.

General museum entry is $10 per adult and $5 per child. The facility is open Thursdays through Saturdays from 11:00a.m. through 7:00p.m. and Sundays from 11:00a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Donations, sponsorships, memberships and volunteer commitments are encouraged. Visit islandspacefl.org to learn about this unique experience and other activities and exhibitions at Island SPACE Caribbean Museum.