The 1st Annual New Mexico Haiku Festival was held on April 11, 1999, at El Convento Museum and Gallery, Plaza de Española, Española, New Mexico. The event, organized by William J. Higginson, Penny Harter, and Elizabeth Searle Lamb, featured readings and panel discussions by a dozen poets.

The Midwest Haiku Festival took place in Decatur, Illinois, on October 9–10, 1992. Thirty-four poets and haiku specialists attended. Featured presenter was noted Zen specialist Prof. Lucien Stryk of Northern Illinois University lecturing on “Modern Japanese Haiku” and leading a workshop on revising haiku.