EXTRAVAGANZA OF BLACK CULTURE
Community invited to expo for ‘bird’s-eye look at black heritage’
Community invited to New Mexico Expo for a bird’seye look at African-American heritage.
New Mexicans can celebrate the state’s African-American community and enjoy a good hair battle while they are at it.
The New Mexico Black Expo is taking place at the end of this week culminating with the Cultural Extravaganza from 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the
Villa Hispaña on the state fairgrounds.
The theme of this year’s Expo, which is put on by the New Mexico Office of African-American Affairs, is child wellness. About 100 people will attend a summit Friday to talk about various aspects that affect the physical and mental health of the state’s African-American children including poverty, teen pregnancy, drug use, access and enrollment in preschool, proficiency in math and reading, and youth incarceration.
The Saturday extravaganza is free and open to the public, but there is a $5 parking fee. The city, state, county and many other organizations sponsor the event.
The extravaganza will have food vendors with ethnic foods, information about education, free health screenings, an area for children and a Night at the Apollo talent show. Yvette Kaufman-Bell, executive director of the New Mexico Office of African-American Affairs, said this year’s expo will also feature vendors who will talk to attendees about home ownership, especially first-time home buyers.
A big boost for the event, Kaufman-Bell said, is the national stars they are able to hire.
“It’s a family affair,” she said. “We draw them (the community) in and then get them to resources. We do this all while celebrating our history and heritage.”
This year’s acts are soul and funk artist Niki J. Crawford, comedian Adrian McCovy, saxophonist Phil French and gospel artist Zebulon Ellis.
The popular hair battle will return for its third year.
“It’s a unique opportunity to see something like this,”
Kaufman-Bell said. “This whole extravaganza is a bird’seye look at black heritage.”
The hair battle will feature about a dozen stylists and barbers concocting elaborate hairstyles. The hairdos are then presented via a runway fashion show. Some participants will complete their masterpieces at their shop before coming to the extravaganza. First-place winners in each of the stylist and barber categories will win $2,000. The battle starts at 6 p.m.
Participation for the event has grown exponentially since 2011 when 400 people attended. In 2015, the last year for which data was immediately available, 4,200 took part in the expo. Kaufman-Bell said this is due to expanding the offerings, getting more organizations with outreach to the community involved and increased marketing. A few years ago the event began a trade show featuring blackowned businesses, which Kaufman-Bell said draws a large number of people.
“We invite the entire community,” she said. “We would like to invite all families in New Mexico to come out and enjoy black New Mexico.”