Kickin’ It: Dance Africa Festival 2011

Dance Africa 2011Hey loves! Hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend! So if you follow me on Twitter, you probably heard me yapping about my Memorial Day plans this weekend. Yesterday, I spent the good part of my Memorial Day in Brooklyn (my home away from home on summer weekends) at the Dance Africa festival & bazaar.
Dance Africa Jewelry Seller
I’ve been attending the festival for a few years now and it is absolutely the highlight of my Memorial Day Weekend. It’s a themed festival and bazaar that’s hosted by the Brooklyn Academy of Music each year, in celebration of African culture & heritage. They run African dance shows throughout the weekend, movie screenings, you name it! And for three days, vendors from all over the city come to sell these AMAZING goods i.e food, jewelry, handbags, kente cloth, hair products, you name it!

Here’s a peek at my amazing time at the festival:

African-Print-Earrings
One of my favorite things about the outdoor bazaar are the amazing jewels for sale.
African-Print-Dresses
Also the adorable ethnic ankara creations. These dresses by Pauline Asmah were beautiful.
bam-festival-fruit-punch
This fruit punch with chunks of fresh fruit gave me LIFE yesterday. Might have been the highlight of my day drinking this. Yum! (By the way, my leopard nails are courtesy Sally Hansen Salon Effects, post on that coming soon)
jahbulani-products
Also for sale are various beauty products. I was drawn into this booth with all-natural hair and body products, called Jahbulani – they’re based in Brooklyn. Check them out at Jahbulaniproducts.com.
And of course, the street style was on POINT! Love seeing natural divas at the Dance Africa festival flaunt their tresses and their amazing sense of style. Check out my street chic pics:

janine-maxwell

I spotted Janine from down the block and had to track her down to snap a pic of her look. Love how she mixed this painted vintage top with tailored cropped pants and flats. Chic!

adia-ware

Jewelry designer Adia kept it afrocentric with this printed strapless romper that I loved! Cowry shell leather sandals and gold earring round off her look. Check out her jewels at www.MercurySun.etsy.comtie-dye-palazzo-pantsThis fly diva Ayana is a singer, part of a group called Aries. Her hair was everything to me – so fun! And those tie dyed pants and retro shades were to die for.

nima-fordColor is the key to looking vibrant. Stylist Ni’Ma Ford capitalized on the bright sunny day in an electric shade of green.

marjon-carlos-tara-liggins-devin-butlet

This group of friends caught my eye with their cute ensembles and amazing accessories. Never underestimate the power of a great handbag!

tafari-powisThe belt! The pants! The tie! I was living and dying for Tafari’s amazing getup. Aren’t you?

christina-brown-dance-africa

And here’s what I rocked for the occasion! Had such a blast at the festival.

Top: Soho Boutique find (don’t know the brand!), Skirt: Vintage, Sandals: H&M, Bag, Shades, Chain: Vintage,  Watch: Michael Kors.
Sidenote: Cece’s curls are back! My hair has grown so much since I chopped it off in November so I plan to wear it out more often. I even managed to pull it all up into a top knot – woohoo! More hair posts to come this summer, I promise!
How did you spend your Memorial Day weekend? I wanna know!
Christina Brown

Lifestyle influencer and digital mompreneur Christina S. Brown is a New York native, LA resident, and the founder of LoveBrownSugar.com and BrownGirlsLove. She's an award-winning storyteller, a motivational speaker and an advocate for confident millennial black women.

8 Comments

  2. After seeing those beautiful earrings, I wish I had gone! =/ Also wearing my natural hair so earrings are everything to me right now.

    Glad you had an amazing time, and the street style is so inspiring. I’ll just have to wait 365 days for the next festival. Lol

  6. @Jarette Thanks love! Don’t worry, NY has street festivals running all summer. If you’re in the Philadelphia area, they have a festival similar to this one in June as well!