Curl Fest 2017



Hi!

Curl Fest had been on my radar for months and omg was it EVERYTHING! As a product junkie and hair fanatic I knew I had to go! My best friend and I have been trying to plan a girls trip for a while. She was not able to make it to curl fest but I was still itching to go so I dragged my mom and sister along. Honesty, it didn't take much dragging. We were all super excited. Curly Girl Collective did an awesome job keeping you on edge about the all the vendors and host and djs on their Instagram page. Thats kind of where the whole idea to attend started.

The event was totally free. Which is just phenomenal! I signed the three of us up for a general admission rsvp. This rsvp kind of ensures you get a curl fest gift bag. These bags were so cute too! They came with sample and full size natural hair products y'all! Welp, long story short. The line for the general admin rsvps was about and hour and a half long! It was so many women out there, we just forfeited our bags and went straight to the vendors. The way the sun was beaming on Prospect Park and the way that line was set up we just couldn't do it. The park was packed! If i had to guess I would say there was over a thousand people in attendance. It was really a sight to see!



 The first vendor we decided to check out was Shea Moisture. If haven't heard they are canceled but they were giving away free fans so we snagged one of those and kept it moving.

 Next up was Tropic Isle Living. They had the cutest tent set up! They are mostly known their castor oils but they have not only hair but body products as well. They had three full size product bundles for $20.00! With that purchase you got a bag and a free fresh coconut water! Much needeed too because that sun was no joke and shade was scarce!

My hair here was kind of a struggle twist out. It was really cute flexi rod set but it rained the day prior and pretty much destroyed it. I also go a lot of compliment on this outfit. I first saw it on  TheChicNatural first and loved it! Its from Amazon and was only $18.00. 

 By this time it was probably 12:30pm. We were pretty hungry. We found a spot in the grass, spread out our blanket and got comfortable. A rep from ORS was passing our free sample bags so I was able to get one of those! I was kind of surprised that there was not more vendors giving out free products but I guess you gotta pay to play.

There were about 7 food trucks there. They had every thing from jerk chicken and rice, to soul food, shaved ice, to vegan thai takeout. After waiting in line for abut 45 minutes we finally got our Thai food! The lines were unbelievably long!

Here we were in line for our food! The lines were cray cray! You could barely tell which line was for which food truck! Word of advice if you plan to go next year bring your own snacks and water!

We ate, we danced, we walked and we talked! We admired all the beautiful black hair around us! It was so much to see! So many styles, textures, and colors. Everyone was simply gorgeous! Every two minutes one of us would say "omg look at there necklace", "wow check out her dreads", "did you see that little girls afro".  It was kind of a culture shock honestly. To see that many black people and that much creative expression was amazing! 

Of course the Omega Men were there. They had a food tent and everything! I thought their shirts were  really cute!

I was so happy that I ran into my good friend from pharmacy school! I've always admired her style! That hair color girl! Love it! I missed her so much!


Oh you know, just forgot to mention that I meet Spike Lee! He was there promoting his new netflix film She Gotta Have It.  

Doesn't this picture kind of look like Erica is his neice and he's showing her off at her graduation or something? lol He really liked her dress and wanted to get a good view of it. 


2016 I pretty much wore a sew in extensions all year. I wanted to start to give my natural hair some TLC. I committed to be weave free all of 2017. For me that meant no sew ins! So far, I have not broken that commitment and I'm proud of that! 






Curl Fest reminded me of just how dope black hair is! It inspired and enlightend me in more ways than I can even articulate. It was empowering to say the least. The culture, the pride, and the grace of black women that filled that park gave me an energy that I've never really felt before. Our hair is beautiful and should definitely be celebrated! Thank you Curly Girl Collection for creating such a sacred fun place! 
#curlfest2017

Love,

April W.

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