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Creating opportunity and space was the goal from the beginning for Lisa Michelle.
“This idea of using Juneteenth as an opportunity to celebrate the holiday, but also celebrate ourselves and having the space where we can express ourselves freely,” she said.
And that goal is shown through Charlotte's Durag Fest, which she leads as co-founder and CEO.
“(We’re highlighting) the durag as the symbol to do that. Often a lot of our Black culture can be misunderstood and appropriated,” Michelle shared. “I get excited about Durag Fest because we just have all these layers of opportunities to showcase who we are, our community, and for local creatives, whatever your medium is, to show up and to be able to have a platform to show what you can do."
Since 2018, thousands have come to Camp North End for the annual Durag Fest to celebrate Black excellence and check out artists from around the Charlotte area. The festival has grown and brought in plenty of visitors from all over.
“We have a lot of people coming from different areas," Michelle shared. "Some are from Canada, people from New Mexico, Jamaica, the Netherlands."
However, as people pour into the Queen City, she sees this as an opportunity to pour back into the youth. Michelle also runs the DuGhood Foundation, which partners with the festival.
“Being very intentional about the programs or the things you create," Michelle said. "For DuGhood, a big part of that is understanding the gap."
A portion of the proceeds from Durag Fest goes to the non-profit, which creates programming that empowers underserved and underrepresented youth.
“We are gearing up for back to school [and] one thing that we know that outside of just the tools, a big tool is confidence as a young person,” Michelle said. “One of the programs that we will be doing is not just giving the supplies but offering free services your hair [and] clothes for young children so when they walk in the hallway, they feel confident.”
She hopes to not only create opportunities for young people, but provide space to eventually do more.
“We want to have important conversations amongst our community that will continue to push the envelope forward,” said Michelle.
Durag Fest will run for two days this year. It will take place June 21st and 22nd at Camp North End.
Contact Nick Sturdivant at nsturdiva1@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.