On July 25, CURLFEST returns to Randall’s Island, bringing its signature celebration of textured hair, Black entrepreneurship and collective joy back to New York City.
There are festivals built around music, food, or fashion. Then there are cultural gatherings that become something larger: a meeting place, a mirror and a reminder of what it feels like to be fully seen.
CURLFEST has always belonged to the latter.
On Saturday, July 25, 2026, the beloved celebration of natural beauty, culture and community returns to New York City at Randall’s Island. Created by Curly Girl Collective, the festival will once again bring together thousands of attendees for a day rooted in textured hair, Black beauty, entrepreneurship, wellness, music and connection.
“CURLFEST honors the glory of textured crowns, the richness of our skin, and the boundless joy of our culture,” said Charisse Higgins, co-founder of CURLFEST and Curly Girl Collective.
That sense of joy has been central to CURLFEST from the beginning.
What started as a grassroots gathering of roughly 1,000 people grew into one of the most recognizable cultural celebrations of natural hair in the country, drawing more than 30,000 attendees at its peak. Along the way, it became more than a beauty festival. It became a space where Black women and girls could gather without shrinking, translating or explaining themselves.
The festival’s return arrives at a moment when conversations around beauty, wellness and economic power remain deeply connected. For women of color, those subjects have rarely existed in isolation. Hair is personal, but it is also political. Beauty is expressive, but it is also a multibillion-dollar industry. Community is emotional, but it can also be a vehicle for ownership, visibility, and opportunity.
CURLFEST 2026 is designed around that intersection.
Across the festival grounds, attendees can expect experiences that move beyond product discovery and photo moments. Beauty Row will feature sponsor activations, immersive installations, product sampling, giveaways and surprise performances from participating beauty brands.
The Empowerment Stage will host conversations on entrepreneurship, career growth, financial empowerment, wellness, beauty and culture. The goal is not only to inspire but also to create direct access to founders, educators, professionals, and industry leaders who can offer practical insights.
This year’s programming also includes live entertainment from DJ Young Chow and appearances by notable figures including Lisa Price, founder of Carol’s Daughter; actor and model Broderick Hunter; and entrepreneur Courtney Adeleye.
The festival marketplace will continue to serve as a platform for discovery. The Vendor Marketplace will showcase small businesses across beauty, fashion, lifestyle, wellness and artisan goods, while the Small Beauty Village will give emerging beauty founders direct access to a highly engaged audience.
For many independent brands, that kind of visibility can be transformative.
At CURLFEST, attendees are not simply consumers. They are part of a community that has helped shape the event’s identity, amplify its reach and sustain its growth. Since its launch, the festival has generated an estimated 8.4 billion cumulative social media impressions, according to the organization, driven organically by creators, attendees and supporters.
That reach speaks to the festival’s cultural resonance. CURLFEST was not built by marketing at a community from the outside. It was built from within it.
Food and culture will also remain central to the experience. Eats n’ Treats will feature food and beverage vendors representing flavors from across the African and Caribbean diasporas and beyond, adding another layer to a festival grounded in shared traditions and cultural expression.
The 2026 return will also place a greater focus on younger attendees.
Expanded youth-centered programming will give the next generation of curly girls opportunities to connect with Black-owned beauty founders, wellness practitioners, mentors and financial educators. It is part of Curly Girl Collective’s broader commitment to ensuring that the festival’s legacy is not only celebrated, but passed forward.
That commitment also extends to Road to CURLFEST®, a new series of virtual and in-person experiences leading up to the festival. The initiative will include community events, collaborations and exclusive programming intended to keep the conversation and connection going beyond one day in July.
Confirmed sponsors for CURLFEST 2026 include WBLS, The Doux, Miss Jessie’s, Donna’s Recipe, Mielle Organics, SheaMoisture, Carol’s Daughter, DevaCurl, Black Girl Vitamins, D Hair Boutique, En Love Beauty, Watch and Sea Beauty and Uber Soca Cruise. Additional sponsors and Gen Z creator partnerships are expected to be announced.
Behind the festival are Curly Girl Collective founding members Charisse Higgins, Melody Henderson and Simone Mair, who have spent more than a decade building a platform centered on natural beauty, wellness and community for Black women and girls.
The organization remains fully bootstrapped, Black woman-owned and community-driven, without outside funding or corporate ownership. That independence has allowed the founders to preserve the festival’s spirit while continuing to expand its reach and impact.
The return of CURLFEST is not simply the return of an event.
It is the return of a space where textured hair is not treated as a trend, where Black beauty is not positioned as a niche and where joy is not an afterthought. It is a reminder that culture can be both celebrated and protected, and that community can be both powerful and beautiful.
On July 25, Randall’s Island will once again become a gathering place for curls, crowns, culture and connection.
CURLFEST 2026 will take place on Saturday, July 25, at Randall’s Island in New York City. For more information, visit CURLFEST.com and follow @curlygirlcollective on Instagram using #CURLFEST2026.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/curlfest-2026-tickets-1439262917129
© 2026, Marie Theodore. All rights reserved.
