With the warm weather finally arriving in Toronto this past weekend, things are definitely heating up in the city! One event that is always a pleasure to attend in June is Afrochic Cultural Arts Exhibit. Held this past Saturday, the fourth annual event was hosted at C Lounge, an elegant indoor and outdoor venue. Whether you wanted to mix and mingle, lounge or network, Afrochic had the right ingredients: art, fashion, entertainment and entrepreneurship, to make your Saturday afternoon memorable.
During the initial hours of the event, guests were encouraged to check out the beautiful outdoor space where vendors, such as prime sponsor Athletic Leaders and business sponsor Latoya Wallace, were showcasing their services. With many vendors displaying fantastic products aligned with Beauty, Skin & Hair and Fashion & Accessories items, venturing outside proved to be also a great opportunity to find that statement piece or product that you may have been looking for to compliment your look or outfit of the day.
Highlighting the cultural and rich energy of the African-Canadian community, Afrochic Cultural Arts Exhibit featured captivating visual art displays, body paintings, and live performances from spoken word artists, rappers and singers. This year the exhibit theme, A Vintage Story, was exemplified through the stories and sentiments shared by the artists, performers and vendors. Body painters, Lelu Angwenyi and Quentin Vercetty, for example, held the audience’s attention when describing the inspiration of the images and symbols painted on the live models.
After the show Woodney Pierre, a singer that performed at Afrochic, briefly shared her vintage story, “My vintage story was about taking it back to the sixties. I sang an Ella Fitzgerald song Lullaby of birdland. I also sang Beyonce’s Love on Top, which although is a more recent song, still has that old school feel that I love.”
One of the highlights of the evening, was the highly anticipated Afrochic fashion show. Designers showcased their collections of vibrant prints, color and flattering silhouettes as models walked fiercely down the runway. The models were not the only ones who were wearing fashion-forward outfits! The Afrochic creative team and the audience were also very stylish, and a memorable crowd pleaser moment was when host Amanda Parris, complimented one gentleman from the audience on his outfit and invited him to model it centre stage.
The event came to a close with congratulatory speeches and recognition given to Afrochic founder Amoye Henry, and executive team for their hard work and success of the event. When asked about her experience hosting, Amanda Parris shared, “Hosting afrochic was an incredible experience. The artists were incredible and there was such a great energy. The women that organized this event are truly amazing and did a really great job organizing something that is so positive.”
Congratulations Afrochic on an amazing event! We look forward to the fifth annual Cultural Arts Exhibition next year.
