Festival Origins
On December 3, 2024, Aarti Mehta-Kroll had the privilege of speaking with Mr. Herb Hiller. Mr. Hiller who lived in Coconut Grove in the 1970s and was one of the founders of the Goombay Festival. He is the author of four books and a blog called “The Climate Traveler.” As they chatted over the phone, she furiously took notes as he seamlessly narrated the story of how the Goombay Festival of Coconut Grove began, the challenges and skepticism it faced and the huge success it became. Mr. Herb Hiller passed away on February 3, 2025 at the age of 93.
According to a story published in the Miami Herald, while bicycling through Coconut Grove Mr. Hiller came across a historical marker on Charles Avenue that described the neighborhood’s Bahamian origins, sparking the idea of starting a festival to celebrate this heritage 1. When I asked him about this, he confirmed that this happened but it’s far from the whole story…
In 1977, Mr. Herb Hiller was a consultant to Norwegian Caribbean Lines, which later became Norwegian Cruise Lines. Norwegian was going to introduce a new ship into Bahamas service in June that year and asked Mr. Hiller for ideas on how to promote it. He was thinking about this as he rode his bicycle from South Grove, into the Village. He’d been teaching a seminar for FIU students at his home, and he’d get meals for this group from Big Al’s BBQ on Grand Avenue. The owner of Big Al’s was George Major, who made an outstanding baked grouper! As they chatted, Mr. Hiller discovered Mr. Major was originally from Eleuthera and that there were many Bahamians from Eleuthera who had settled in the Grove. Mr. Hiller also shopped at the fish market next to Big Al’s, a place that had beautiful displays of fresh, never frozen, seafood. He learned from the couple that owned the store, Mr. and Mrs. Murray, that they too were from Eleuthera and greatly valued the Bahamian community in their neighborhood. He realized that if he didn’t know about Coconut Grove’s links to the Bahamas, others might not either.
He suggested that Norwegian organize a Bahamian street festival with one day in the Black Grove and one day in the Village. He told them that he would not promote the cruise service; they’d need to do that themselves, but he would make sure that Norwegian’s promotion would coincide with the media coverage for the festival. He knew that to get the Miami Herald to pay attention, the festival couldn’t be about promoting a product. The focus would be the civic occasion that would bring Blacks and whites together; no small feat in Miami in the 1970s.
Mr. Hiller in Mayport, FL, pictured in front of the Mayport Ferry that crosses the mouth of the St, Johns north on into Nassau County. The ferry was being designated as part of the East Coast Greenway with a logo plaque up near the wheelhouse. Photo courtesy of Mr. Herb Hiller.
He shared the story with the executive editor of the Herald, John McMullan and explained that Norwegian’s only role was providing the funds to organize the event. Mr. McMullan loved the story and as a result, it received extensive coverage by the Herald, with news of the festival weekend making a mark on the front page, starting Thursday all the way to Monday. The first piece was in the food section, an article full of colorful pictures giving readers a taste of all the delicious food being prepared for festivalgoers.
Mr. Hiller also approached the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism and explained to them what an amazing opportunity Goombay presented to scale up news about the Bahamas and Bahamian life in Miami. As a result, the Friday before Goombay, in the lead up to the festival, a member of the Royal Bahamas Police Constabulary stood at a podium that was put on the corner of Grand and Douglas directing traffic, with a colleague from the Miami police force standing by. It was a sight to behold! Adding to the visual display were Bahamian themed panels created by the artists Roland Woods and Gene Tinney. These were attached to lampposts all along the Black Grove section of the neighborhood.
This video from Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Archives contains news footage from the WTVJ Collection, news tape 180. The first video clip is of a member of the Royal Bahamian Police Force, Corporal Glen Wells, directing traffic on Grand Avenue on June 7, 1979. The second shows festivalgoers and vendors at the Goombay Festival on June 8, 1979.
On Friday evening, Mr. Billy Rolle led a full jazz band to perform at the Mayfair in Coconut Grove. Mr. Hiller had booked the hotel for an invitation only party for everybody who had anything to do with the festival. Mr. Rolle and his band played in the mezzanine while attendees enjoyed Bahamian food and Kalik beer. On Saturday, it was estimated by the police that 80,000 people showed up, far surpassing all expectations!
Mr. Hiller faced his share of skepticism when it came to planning Goombay. He shared the story of a meeting he and George Major had with two police officers while planning the festival. One of the officers said to them, that if they invited white people to the Black Grove, they were going to have the biggest riot Miami had ever seen. In that moment the screen door flew open and young teen ran through and shouted, “Hey coppers! They just flattened your four wheels!” It was not a good omen. The cops were furious. They said they would lock Mr. Hiller up so Goombay couldn’t happen. They did not and the festival was a huge success. It was entirely eventful from a law-and-order point of view, with the chief of police at the time sharing that aside from a few purse snatchings there was no more crime than usual.
Another story Mr. Hiller shared relates to the first day of Goombay. He remembers waking up that morning and heading out on his bicycle to put down a deposit for tables. These were for vendors from the Bahamas, who were getting free passage by Norwegian on one of their ships. Mr. Hiller got to Poe’s Hardware on Le Jeune Road before the store even opened only to be greeted by a massive downpour. As he stood in the pouring rain, he thought the festival would have to be cancelled. But as the store opened, the rain stopped, and the sun came out. He paid the deposit for the tables and the Goombay Festival of Coconut Grove began.
Mr. Rolle was a beloved community leader and music teacher 2. This is a photo of him playing the saxophone with a Goombay poster in the background, Coconut Grove, Florida. 1985. Collected by Nancy Nusz. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
Festival goers taking shelter from the rain during Goombay 2024, Coconut Grove, Florida. Photo by Enrique Rosell.
A group of children standing on Grand Avenue, sheltering under an umbrella as it rains during Goombay 2024, Coconut Grove, Florida. Photo by Enrique Rosell.
1 Dibble, Sandra (1984). Life in the Slow Lane. The Miami Herald, 29 September, Page 1D.
2 Mr. Rolle gave an interview to Stephanie Wanza at the Black Archives in 1997 in which he talks about his life in Coconut Grove and his work as a teacher. This interview can be accessed online via the Samuel Proctor Oral History Collection of the University of Florida.