MINNEAPOLIS — Organizing events is nothing new for Tephanie Delaney.
"I've been personally producing events since I was 19 years old," said Delaney.
She said fostering a sense of empowerment and belonging in the Twin Cities community is a labor of love.
"I moved to the Twin Cities in 1998 and dabbled in a couple of events but didn't get into it as much," she said. "In 2014, I produced the Twin Cities Fashion Expo and turned out to be a great event," she said. "In 2016, we did the 'Twin Cities Nappy Hour' so that was a natural hair celebration of womanhood," said Delaney.
With humble beginnings in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood, Delaney's team decided to expand, creating the Twin Cities Hair and Beauty Expo.
"I learned so much about cultural identity, ethnicity, and all the things I didn't see in St. Louis, and saw there was a lack of the celebration of culture," she said, referring to where she was raised. "The Twin Cities is such an underrepresented community, when it comes to women of color, they were like wow there's a spotlight on Black women in the Twin Cities. We started with a fast takeoff and now we're here."
The expo now offers around 60 vendors with a strong focus on Black-owned businesses, and an emphasis on beauty - inside and out.
"The brothers are going to speak from their heart about what they've been seeing, how they've been coping, and how we were all in the pandemic and how we're all coming out together," she said.
Delaney said the recent passing of the Crown Act in several states, helped eliminate barriers, "but we have far to go," she said.
It's the largest event of its kind in the Upper Midwest and Delaney said she wants to continue producing it for years to come.
"Come and really see our city and yes, the tragedy happened, but come and get to know Minneapolis for Minneapolis," she said.
The expo will be taking place this Sunday, August 13 at the Courtyard Minneapolis. Tickets are still available online or at the door.
The Twin Cities Hair & Beauty Expo will be awarding 2-3 business grants to select vendors during the event. These grants are designed to provide financial assistance to deserving businesses, enabling them to expand and flourish.
For more information, visit the link here.
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