Curlfest Guyana Expo
Tamika Henry and Denisha Victor, the coordinators of Culrfest Guyana Natural Hair Expo
Tamika Henry and Denisha Victor, the coordinators of Culrfest Guyana Natural Hair Expo

–Celebrating local ‘natural-hair’ community

BACK in 2011, when Tamika Henry did her ‘big chop’, the natural-hair movement had not yet picked up speed. At the time, she was also still the 2010 title holder of the Miss Guyana Universe pageant, but she readily admits that people didn’t like it.
“The next time the Guyanese public saw me [after winning Miss Guyana Universe], I was bald while handing over the crown,” Tamika told The Buzz in a sit down interview. “A lot of persons had negative comments about my hair; they would say that I spoiled my beauty and other such comments.”
Such experiences, in addition to a difficulty accessing products for her hair, lack of style inspiration, and the general lack of a support system around her all contributed to her current efforts of ensuring that Guyanese women who form part of what has grown into an active natural hair movement receive the support that was absent a mere five years prior.
GERM OF AN IDEA
And thus the idea for the Curlfest Guyana Natural Hair Expo was born. Tamika then teamed up with fellow ‘Naturalista’, Denisha Victor, who herself just opened ‘Koko’, a natural-hair supply store, and the two women started putting together ideas to bring the Expo to life.
“We had the idea for a while, but finding the time was the issue. But at the beginning of the year, we decided that we would pull it off, and so we started officially planning for the event after the Jubilee celebrations,“ Tamika said.
Since launching the Expo’s official Facebook page in July, the women have received much expressions of interest from the local natural-hair community, which has been starved for resources relating to the growing global movement.
Last Monday, the Curlfest Team hosted an information session at the Pegasus Hotel, aimed at providing businesses interested in participating in the event the opportunity of finding out more about the Expo, and having any questions about the event answered.

The information session held at the Pegasus Hotel last Monday
The information session held at the Pegasus Hotel last Monday

NOTHING NEW
The Curlfest concept is itself not a new one, as it is an annual event which has been hosted in Brooklyn, New York since 2014. Dubbed “The Ultimate Celebration of natural hair”, Curlfest has, over the years, provided a space for men and women of colour to come together to celebrate their hair and their African heritage.
Curlfest Guyana will, therefore, seek to do the same for Guyanese naturals. The event, which is scheduled for October 9 at the Promenade Gardens, will be a whole-day event, chock full of fun activities and attractions centred on natural hair and other beauty-related topics.
Apart from hair and beauty products, the event will also feature informative natural- hair workshops and health and fitness activities, as well as fun competitions for those in attendance.
To top off the entire event, a natural hair show will be hosted at the end of the day, which will be the first such show ever hosted in Guyana.
NOW’S THE TIME
“Now is the right time to host such an event! Natural hair is a huge craze; it is more than just a craze. We are actually going back to where we came from, so we want to make sure that we do it properly,” Tamika said.
The event will behosted under the theme, ‘#IamMyHair’, and while many may debate about whether or not their hair defines them, Tamika says that the purpose of pushing such a message goes beyond what some may think.
“That statement is there because we were taught that our hair is not pretty; or not professional; or it’s not good hair… If it’s something positive, then we wouldn’t deny it. So, by us saying #IAmMyHair, we are portraying a positive image of natural hair; we are saying that it is something good; we can embrace it and be proud of it,” Tamika said.

 

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