Denver Natural Hair Care Expo 2014 Recap

Michaela Sanders and I getting caught up

If you follow me on Instagram then you already know about the fun I had last weekend at the First Annual Denver Natural Hair Care Expo.  The event was one of many on the Evolution Tour which was founded by Malaika-Tamu Cooper, who was a special guest speaker.  Colorado Urban Naturals was the local group organizing the event with Phaedra High as the head coordinator.  The event was in the planning stages for 9 months and was received positively by many.  There were classes offered throughout the day on health, wellness, haircare and coaching for entrepreneurs in the hair field.

My mother, who is also natural, attended the event along with me.  We both enjoyed a Qi-Gong demonstration by Ronnie Ql and Pos from The Apprentice of Peace Wellness Studio in Denver.  I also caught up with an old friend, Michaela Sanders, who was an instructor for one of the classes.

Natural men and women in attendance at this year’s Denver Natural Hair Care Expo

Vendors selling jewelry, books and food

Natural hair blogger, Sabrina Perkins  (left) with Sister, Author Dormaine G.

There were many vendors present including, Melissa Vas from More Than Curly salon, Ron Springer from Akente Express and Dormaine G, an independently published author.  Also, I was glad to have the chance to reconnect with fellow natural hair blogger, Sabrina Perkins who writes for her blog, Seriously Natural.

Pictured left; Melissa Vas discussing curly hair with an attendee, top right; Earrings from Akente Express, bottom right; Ron Springer, Owner of Akente Express.

Chatting with Facebook follower (and future blogger 😉 ) Keisha

Originally, I was invited to participate as a presenter on one of the discussion panels along with other bloggers and stylists.  Unfortunately, the heavy rain brought all of the outdoor activities inside which eventually led to a cancellation of our panel.  Still, the event kept on, regardless of the weather and concluded with an upbeat hair show that celebrated the beauty of natural hair.

Myself with Pos (left) and Ronnie Ql of The Apprentice of Peace Wellness Studio

I worked for several years as an event coordinator and realize that an event of this size is a huge undertaking.  There are always hiccups here and there in the first year and I know that this took a lot of man hours and planning.  However,  it would be nice to see more publicity next time because it sounds like there were a lot of naturals out there who didn’t find out about it in time.  It also looks like a larger venue may be necessary so that all of the vendors, classes, presentations and shows can be held under one roof.  This would help streamline the event schedule and shelter everyone from bad weather conditions.  Overall, the event was given a huge thumbs up by the naturals who came out.

Hopefully, there will be even more support for next year’s event.  It will take all of us to help make it bigger and better!  My thanks goes out to Phaedra High who had a vision for a Natural Hair event in Denver and saw it through.  Congrats!

I had a lot of fun meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends at the Denver Natural Hair Care Expo.  For updates on future events follow my blog and check out Colorado Urban Naturals on Facebook.