THE 5th ANNUAL HAPPILY NATURAL

The 5th Annual Happily Natural; "Bringing Back Black is Beautiful" (Saturday, August 25, 2007 12 noon to 7pm @ Hotchkiss Field Community Center, 701 E. Brookland Park Blvd, Richmond VA) is Virginia's first international African festival to promote black consciousness, holistic health and social change. The festival was founded in 2003 at the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia for the purpose of breaking down inferiority complexes in the black community that are a by product of racism and discrimination as identified by the now infamous "doll test" used in the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Happily Natural is designed to heal the wounds inflicted upon people of color as a result of the assault by; conformity to and acceptance of racism & colonization in America and throughout the globe.

Happily Natural is more than just a one day event - it's a globally recognized beacon for cultivating love of one's self and community. In April of 2007 founder Duron Chavis represented the festival as a cultural emissary to Adornment London on panels featuring internationally known recording artist Erykah Badu. Just a few highlights for this year include:

Lectures & consultations with Queen Afua, author of Heal Thyself & Sacred Woman and leading scholar in the field of holistic health & healing.

Natural hair expositions & workshops to educate patrons on the wide and diverse ways of managing, styling and caring for natural hair.

Couture fashion, natural body & hair care products, African art, information & culture specific merchandise in the African Marketplace.

Visual presentations on the diversity of African people globally from world renowned scholar on the global African presence; Runoko Rashidi.

If you have any questions about Happily Natural Day, please call 804-539-7459. Also log on to Happilynaturalday.com for directions and more information.

Happily Natural Day is sponsored by Organic Root Stimulator, Black Earth Products, Sisterhood Agenda, Camp Diva, Tropical Soul Lounge and Conquering Lion Books.

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Urban youth culture stands at a crossroads. Behind them lies the civil rights/ black power movement; to their sides the AIDS epidemic, globalization, the War on Terror, the prison industrial complex and more; while in front of them looms a questionable future. What does that future hold? What role will Hip Hop play in developing a better world for all people?

In an effort to answer these questions, The Black Freedom Weekend Hip Hop Summit will convene on Sunday August 26th, 2007. Veteran hip hop founders will feature on panel discuss the present state of hip hop and bringing it back to being a tool for social change.

The program will also feature a film screening of "Finding Common Ground in New Orleans" by independent filmmaker Walidah Imarisha and information tables from progressive organizations from throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Please visit http://happilynaturalday.com for more information.

Contact: Duron Chavis
804-539-7459
info@happilynaturalday.com