Oklahoma Naturals Expo Weekend Recap
If you are eyeing the merchandise above make sure to visit my boutique to shop til you drop! Click here or select the SHOP tab on this website.
A few months ago I received a very important email from Resilient Soul, www.resilientsoul.com. It all started with an email. I was being booked for my very first event appearance in Oklahoma City. Previously, I've been invited to natural hair events as a guest blogger/panelists but in my area- Maryland, Washington DC or New York. All are no more than 3 hours away from home! But getting invited all the way to Oklahoma was a big deal to me. Resilient Soul wanted me to be the headliner of this event- I was more than happy to take them up on the offer because it was a great opportunity for all parties involved- myself, Resilient Soul, and my curlfriends who attended the event. Resilient Soul has been so professional during this entire process. The event was planned to perfection. Their communication with me has been extraordinary! All I had to do was show up! Lol. No but for real, I had to prepare to be on the bloggers panel as well as get prepared to be a last minute vendor! That was exciting! Lol.
I flew to Oklahoma City from Baltimore (BWI). My flight experience was eventful- I love to fly. Thank goodness I didn't miss any of my flights; I always sat with awesome people on my flight who knew when to talk and when to let me rest. Lol. When I arrived in Oklahoma I had my own rental car to drive like I knew where I was going! Thank goodness for the GPS! I then checked into my hotel which I was given a King Suite...yaaasss! I felt like a natural hair rock star. And again, Resilient Soul is always so professional and prepared...I was greeted by the Hotel staff like they knew who I was; and they presented me with an amazing gift basket which had tea, a tea cup, snacks, & some other goodies! It was such a sweet gesture. Thanks ladies! Once I got settled in to my hotel I did some last minute work like printing handouts, prepared giveaway bags for my seminar, as well as went out and purchased a few things for my vending booth. BTW why is it so hard to get to Walmart in OKC? The roads and highways are soooooooooo confusing! OMG!
The next day was the event! Yayyyy! And curls let me tell you this event was like no other that I've attended. If you live in the Oklahoma City area and you were not in attendance, you missed out and you better keep up with the announcement for their 4th Annual Expo...I hope I am in attendance once again. Fingers crossed. The event was flawless.
There was an easy check in area; tables filled with gift bags for the attendees sponsored by Miss Jessie's and Curls; the event program was in booklet form that outlined all the seminar information as well as advertisements for all the guests and their businesses; each classroom had labels to tell you which seminar was being held.
The vending area- OMG! The vending area was huge and the room itself looked like a market. Each booth area was separated with its own table and chairs, the draping was provided for each vendor too! There was plenty of space for all the attendees to shop like they were at a shopping mall. The vendors set ups were so professional and eye catching. There were a variety of booths too from hair products, jewelry, fitness & health, and more! Everyone who attended was very friendly and welcoming! A lot of my curlfriends there recognized me from my YouTube channel or other social networks. That made me feel so good! The overall vibe was just ahhhhmazing- friendly people supporting each other, lots of shops owned by us doing their thing, there was a DJ playing music throughout the event, a photographer capturing all the fun, and everything just ran so smoothly.
The bloggers panel was a lot of fun too! Myself, Nakeisha James of Fit4Life, Whitney and Alex of SportyAfros, Monisha of RunnersRevelation, and Adeea of TrendySocialite made up the panel. The host was Nikki Nice of OKC Heart & Soul 92.1 FM! She was such a sweetheart, hey Nikki! We were introduced and asked several questions about our big chop experiences, how we care for our hair, our diet and fitness, and more. This was an opportunity for us to connect with everyone who attended the event!
Again, Resilient Soul definitely took care of us- we were served breakfast, lunch, someone was always making sure we were ok, we received gift bags from the event- overall my experience as a blogger and an attendee was amazing! I have no complaints whatsoever! They even had plans for us after the event- dinner, a play (Eryka Baduisms), an album release party, and we went club hopping! They definitely showed me a good time in Oklahoma City. Don't sleep on their city yall! Lol.
Check out some of the footage below as well as pictures. And if you are not convinced to mark this event on your calendars for next year- you are just crazy! Lol. I really hope to see you there next year. I can't wait!
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