Curl Fest at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn will take place at the Lena Horne Bandshell at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Aug. 17, to celebrate ten years of empowerment and celebration.
The iconic, ground-breaking event that was founded on the principles of inclusivity and self-expression will run from 12:00pm to 7:00pm.
Co-founders, Charisse Higgens, Gia Lowe, Melody Henderson, Tracey Coleman, and Simone Mair who launched the festival in 2014, are excited to welcome thousands of patrons to the world’s largest natural hair festival, set to showcase lifestyle expression and allure.
The entrepreneurs told Caribbean Life, on August 6, that the idea came about in 2009, after a friend who was returning to the natural look, asked for advice on how to embark on the journey.
“She reached out to her network via a google email thread, before group chats were even a thing, to get advice on the new journey from her friends. From there, we added friends of friends, and we grew to become over 70 people across the world.”
“We had people in email thread that were in Ghana, Switzerland, all over Brooklyn, and different parts of the U.S.,” they said.
The mega hair festival grew to a historic movement from home-based meetings to events, to big venues throughout New York.
“We did that until the demand was so great, that lines were around the corner. This was just by word of mouth. At that time social media was just picking up on Instagram and Facebook, and we realized there was a demand that we could no long meet at small venues,” said the ladies.
(L to R) Charisse Higgins, Simone Mair, Tracey Coleman, Gia Lowe & Melody HendersonPhoto Credit: shellblair/curlfest
Today, ten years since the revolution of black, brown, and curly hair have become a trend, Curl Fest has a phenomenal rave across the world. The ladies used social media to build the brand, noting that it was important to launch the festival to have a safe space for people to feel seen and heard.
With hard work, commitment, and passion, the partners made the festival a success, noting, “It is bigger than us.”
“Oftentimes, when we, as black women go out into the world, we must change or alter our appearance to fit in. Whether it’s in Corporate America, from where a few of us came from, the topic is often our hair, or we felt like we had to perm our hair to, I say this in quotations, ’look personable. We were made to feel that our natural hair was unkempt,” they shared. “We have these safe spaces where we were going back to our roots, not only to feel beautiful, but embrace the way that the hair grows out of our scalps, and for health reasons. We later found out that perming poses health risk.”
“We are promoting a healthier version of ourselves. We deserve to show up in places the way that we are naturally born, the same way any other race or any other person can. Over the last ten years, natural beauty has shown up in many facets of life. We are seeing our shades being incorporated in cosmetics. It used to be just one shade, and we had to blend to get our correct shade. This has changed,” they said. “We’re seeing more women that look like us come out with beauty brands, and more representation. We still have a way to go. It’s very important for us to make sure that we are included.”
The partners have seen strides since the festival started, noting that people are thankful and loving the opportunity to celebrate them, said the ladies, who have partnered with brands, Shea Moisture, Kiss, Monster, Topic Eye Living and new brand, Sacred.
“We are a small but mighty group behind this brand. Being back in Brooklyn, and back to our roots is so important to us. It feels, organic, and magical they said.”
“We are passionate about our mission and being able to spread natural beauty around the world and connect brands to our community. And if you are a brand or small business that is interested, we are excited to partner all year around, not just during the festival,” said the group.
Tickets are available on www.ticketmaster.com in various tiers. To learn more, log onto www.curlfest.com.
