CurlFest NYC: It's Lit!
The Mecca of the Curlies
Hey Lovelies, so Saturday I last minute attended CurlFest at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY. It was an extremely lit situation bursting with every shade of curly brothers and sisters; every hairstyle and a plethora of Afrocentric "hippie" outfits. I literally found out about the event at 11pm the night before and contacted my bestie Evie, who is in the states visiting from overseas, and my NYC host, Monique of Wanderlust My Way. Fortunately and unfortunately, we arrived very late with only an hour left to spare! In that hour, we managed to score big with meeting legends, spectating a Milly Rock friendly dance off, indulging in the magic, and free hair products! Scroll down for more...
Brunchin' at Sweet Chicks in Brooklyn with beauties Bria, Marsha of Salut Nutrition, myself, Whitley of Whitley KrisM, Kelsie, and Monique of WanderLust My Way
WHAT IS CURLFEST?
Curlfest is a natural hair festival held yearly in the summer hosted by Curly Girl Collective (CGC). CGC's "...mission is to create innovative experiences that harness the energy of the natural hair movement and showcase the best brands for modern women of color." Natural hair companies flock the festival to bring to the curlies new and current products. Vendors line another side of the festival to showcase and sell their art, clothes, food, etc. At the main stage, people gather as they play music and people break out into dance all day long. It is the most beautiful celebration of black hair known to man.
WHY CURLFEST?
Truly and honestly, I seek out anything that is of the culture. I remember moving to Florida and having one of my Florida besties, Allen, tell me that he heard that Africans don't like African Americans. I remember feeling thoroughly puzzled as this was super news to me. Flash to later, I meet Monique in Florida and her and I have this awesome conversation which has led to us just being very cool. In there I talk about how I heard this once and how it was such news to me. In my household, black people all over the world are black people. We all have more commonalities than we have differences. The universal head nod was the beginning of me seeing how much we have in common. Being first generation post Zimbabwean apartheid really has made my family's dinner table conversations very deep and philosophical and usually about the advancement of marginalized people. CurlFest is a mecca and celebration of every single type of marginalized person from all over the world; every shade and hue of brown, from the waviest to the tightest coils, from kanekolon to Brazilian, and from African Print to silk threads. It truly is a reflection of the culture and a celebration of solidarity amongst brown folks. In the hour I was there, I felt safe and empowered, loved and cherished, and even more proud of my "off the scale" coils.
SPONTANEITY & TRAVELS
In my 25 years of living, I have found greatest pleasure in being kind and just extending my hand and talking to people I don't know. This is how I met Monique a few weeks ago at BlogHer 2017. She was sitting alone and I thought, if I get my food and come back and she is stills citing alone, I will sit with her. That one act began a really cool relationship with a fellow and thorough travel blogger. Three weeks after we met, I met her in NYC and stayed with her for the weekend. We were going to do brunch the next day with a handful of bloggers but after a few got ill, it was down to Marsha of Salut Nutrition and Monique. Whilst waiting for a table at Sweet Chick in Brooklyn, I spotted three melanin goddess who were matching and were holding a camera. I was like awww, bloggers? Is it fate? Anyway, I stopped them and asked to take pictures and then we all ended up brunching together; a table for 3 became a table for 6. We got to know a bit about them and they a couple of them were visiting from NOLA. It was MAGIC! I highly encourage being open to such experiences but be safe as well. Be aware of your surroundings and know that all people are cool and good people. Use discernment and your gut!
Anyway lovelies, that is it for now! Look out for a new travel post early this week in collaboration with the CDC! Much love and until next time...Big Bisous!
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