A few weeks ago, I set a goal (one out of many) for 2018- host my first curly hair event.

A few weeks later, my sorority sister Kiara said, “We can make it happen,” just a few weeks before she was set to head back to New Orleans to continue her Master’s degree at Tulane University. I agreed to the idea, while still being a bit nervous and overwhelmed because it would be our first time hosting an event and I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to pull it off due to the limited amount of time. However, I felt more positive about this because I knew how dedicated we were and if we put our mind and hard work to it, it could be a success.

Who better to call to join the mission but my curlfriend Kristen who is also very passionate about the curly hair movement and sports a dope 4A/4B fro?! It didn’t take us long to get that group chat started and begin planning. In fact, I was surprised to see how much we were able to come up with in just a few days. After a few discussions, each of our visions started to become reality and we began shopping for the 20 gift bag items which were set for the first 20 people who arrived and RSVP’d.

Our main goal was to provide an intimate atmosphere for our guests- we wanted them to feel comfortable with us, open up about their hair journey, and enjoy the gift bags including the hair product samples we gave out. See- sometimes it’s not about how much of a following you have, but how many honest and genuine supporters you have. Kiara, Kristen and I went out of our way to make sure our guests enjoyed every minute of our event, even if it meant I had to wake up extra early on the day of the event to pick up the package full of samples we received from one of our sponsors, Palmer’s, which we were very grateful for.

Our other sponsor, JessiCurl blessed us with over 50 samples of styling creams, gels, oil treatments and deep conditioners. We were so grateful to have received these for free- especially for our first event!

We featured a DIY hair mask activity which was a hit for Kurls in the Park. We supplied apple cider vinegar, olive oil, coconut oil, and honey to make a variety of hair masks- all for different purposes. We used medicine bottles to pour the mixtures in for a symbolic reason- hair medicine! No matter how much you take care of your curls, they’re human too- therefore, they can get sick at any given time and you have to be prepared for that.

One mask consisted of apple cider vinegar, honey, and olive oil- also known as the Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) mask, with the purpose of naturally conditioning your hair and leaving a healthy shine. The second mask, made using apple cider vinegar and coconut oil, solves a problem some of us might deal with: dandruff and slow hair growth. The most popular mask during our event was a moisturizing hair mask, made with coconut oil and honey. Dry hair is almost every person with curly hair’s concern- lack of deep conditioning can often keep our hair in a state of dryness (dryer than my phone at 2AM kind of dry.)

My favorite part of Kurls in the Park was when Kiara, Kristen and I shared curly hair journey alongside all our guests and all the knowledge we had obtained about curly hair. I am still learning about my curls and curly hair in general. There’s never too much to learn- I recently found out that pineapples don’t always work for me *cries*, but it’s cool- I’ve been sporting my satin bonnet to bed every night- talk about beauty sleep.

But if it wasn’t for our lovely photographer Vee, owner of 808 Photobooth and her props, we wouldn’t of had as much fun when it came to the picture session. She took it upon herself to create a frame and add sunflowers to it. She also printed out a life-sized Instagram frame with the basic information (name, location, etc.) of our event. We were so grateful for her services and I recommend you book her for your next event as she is very attentive and caters to your vision.

The most humbling part about it all is that we have genuine supporters. Even though we started off with a small crowd for our event, it is evident that others believe in us and share the same vision. When created a page on Eventbrite, we were so shocked by the amount of people who RSVP’d. We knew that we would have a few RSVP’s, but we didn’t think we would be receiving confirmation e-mails multiple times in a day, either.

It’s amazing that our natural hair has brought so many of us together in a positive way. The best part is that we don’t have to put up a facade about who we naturally are because our hair already speaks for us. Whether you have loose 2B curls or tight 4A ringlets, your natural hair is unique but it is still a part of what brings us all together. Things wouldn’t be a part of nature if they didn’t occur in different forms, right?!

I would like to thank every single person who attended Kurls in the Park and made it what it was meant to be. For our first event, we received a great amount of support and people that will continue to uplift us as we will do the same for them. Some of the people who supported us were me and Kiara’s sorority sisters, which is one of the reasons I joined Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated- I have support from sisters from all walks of life.

The Kurl Squad is always more than willing to help out those who are transitioning or are just looking for a better way to maintain their curls. You’d be surprised at how just having natural hair can bring so many people together. I met Kristen during my freshman year of college when my curls were super damaged and actually nowhere to be found. Four years later, we’re flourishing together. Kiara, I met a few months ago through having mutual hair and being a part of the same sorority. You never know where mutualities will take you in life- with this one, us three chose to empower the rest of the curly hair community and give back.

Xoxo,

The Kurl Squad