Curly Girl Collective’s 4th Annual Curlfest took place on Saturday, July 15, 2017 in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY. Curlfest is an outdoor festival that celebrates the beauty of natural hair. The highlights of the event included a live DJ, food trucks, product and styling demos, and vendors selling everything from clothing to jewelry to dolls to hair accessories and more. Popular brands such as CURLS, Eden BodyWorks, Creme of Nature, and Mielle Organics also set up shop, selling their products, many at a discounted rate and/or with a free gift with purchase. Many brands also handed out free samples of their products to attendees. It’s a product junkie’s dream come true. But the best thing about Curlfest is seeing all the beautiful coils, curls, locs, and afros sprinkled all over the Prospect Park lawn. It’s an event that’s filled with positive energy and fun in the Brooklyn sun.

 

 

 

 

Where It All Started

 

The first Curlfest took place in 2014, which is the first year my hair was fully natural after growing out my relaxer. So in a way, Curlfest felt like my very own natural hair coming out party. I know that probably sounds silly, but I really do feel a special connection to this event for that very reason. I have attended Curlfest every year since then, with the exception of last year (2016), when Curlfest fell on the same weekend of my brother’s memorial service. But because I missed last year’s event, I was extra excited to attend this year. However, once I arrived, it became immediately clear that this year’s Curlfest was a much different event from what I was used to. Here are some of the highs and lows of Curlfest 2017.

 

 

Larger Than Life

 

This year’s Curlfest was a lot bigger. I mean, A LOT bigger. The event took place in the same area of the park as usual, but it took up a lot more space and there were sooo many people there. I don’t know the exact number, but I’m pretty sure the total number of attendees is easily in the thousands. Curlfest always has a great turnout, even the first one in 2014. But this year people had come from all over NYC, the tri-state area, and all over the country. My partners in crime and I arrived around 1:30, and found out that all the general admission gift bags were already gone. There was still a very long line for the early bird ticket holders (those who paid $20 in advance to guarantee a gift bag and an official Curlfest tote no matter what time they arrived). But since we hadn’t purchased tickets and there were no gift bags left, we walked right in. However, it didn’t take long to realize that there were long lines all over the park. There seemed to be a long line for every vendor we walked by. There was even a long line to take a photo in front of the Curlfest hashtag that was set up on the grass.

 

 

Goodie Bags

 

Those who purchased an early bird ticket and general admission ticket holders who arrived early enough received a gift bag like the one pictured below, which was filled with full-sized and sample-sized hair and beauty products. There must not have been very many general admission gift bags available, as I heard from ladies who’d been in line since 10:30 am who still weren’t able to get a bag. Apparently, some people started lining up as early as 8 am (the official start time was noon). In the past, you didn’t have to arrive super early to get a gift bag. They were still first come, first serve, but I’ve never gotten there before the event started. Even after this year’s experience, I still wouldn’t plan to arrive any earlier than the official start time. I just feel like, for this type of event, there’s no reason to get there hours before it starts, and as much as I like free goodies, I’m not going to wait outside in the heat for hours just for the possibility of getting a gift bag. Other complaints from attendees included line skipping and not enough water stations.

 

Here’s what was in the bag: definitely a few products I would have liked to get my hands on! Photo courtesy of Afrokanomics

 

Hot and Bothered

 

It was incredibly hot and humid out that day: uncomfortably hot and humid. Some people even fainted from the heat. I came prepared with bottles of iced water and fruit, cheese, and crackers for us to munch on. I’m glad I decided not to wear makeup because I’m pretty sure it would have melted right off my face. The heat combined with the long lines was a recipe for aggravation. But still, we made the most of it, set up our blanket on the lawn and took it all in. In retrospect, I should have known that this year’s Curlfest would be a much more crowded event: their original RSVP site crashed as soon as general admission tickets were made available. When they were made available again through Eventbrite, they sold out in about 30 minutes.

 

 

Highlights

 

Once again, one of the highlights of this year’s Curlfest was being surrounded by so much gorgeous natural hair. There were so many beautiful people there and it was nice to be surrounded by so much positive energy. I stopped by the Camille Rose Naturals booth and bought their Coconut Water Deep Conditioner and a bar of facial soap. The conditioner was $10, which is half the regular retail price. I wanted to pick up their Curlfest exclusive Marula Swirl Deep Conditioner, but they were all sold out by the time I got to the front of the line. I was tempted to stop by the Eden BodyWorks booth, but decided not to because I’m pretty well stocked up on all my Eden favorites.

 

 

Other highlights included an empowerment circle led by Michaela Angela Davis (which I was really sad to miss), an appearance by Spike Lee who was there promoting the Netflix series “She’s Gotta Have It,” based on his 1986 film of the same name, and a Soul Train line. I missed out on the Soul Train line; I had to get out of the heat.

 

My Honest Opinion

 

This could just be my nostalgia talking; maybe I’m just a victim of wanting that old thing back, but I have to say, I enjoyed Curlfest more when it was a smaller event. I think it’s amazing how much it’s grown and I’m glad more and more people are able to come together and attend this event, but it seems like Curlfest ran a more smoothly in past years. However, I have to give the ladies of the Curly Girl Collective their props for organizing this (FREE!) event every year. I’m still happy that Curlfest happens every summer. It may not be perfect, but I imagine there are many challenges associated with planning an event this size.

 

Did you attend this year’s Curlfest? What was your experience like?