Celebrating Our Roots: The HAIR-ITAGE Showcase at CARIFESTA XV

At CARIFESTA XV, culture isn’t only heard in music or seen on the stage—it’s felt in the strands, braids, tattoos, and markings that tell our stories. From August 23–27 at CARIFESTA Village and Grand Market, Waterford, the HAIR-ITAGE Showcase will bring the region’s hair and body adornment heritage to the forefront, in a five-day celebration of identity, creativity, and craft.

Honouring the festival theme, ‘Caribbean Roots, Global Excellence’, HAIR-ITAGE explores how personal styling has always been more than appearance, it is a living archive of heritage, resilience, and self-expression. Patrons will experience workshops, live demonstrations, competitions, and a buzzing marketplace featuring flash stylings, live tattooing, body art, and locally made hair, body, and beauty products.

Hands-On Heritage

The programme opens on August 23 with “Roots of Heritage”, beginning with a cultural conversation on the significance of hair led by Sophia Lee. Throughout the day, stylists like Adzil Stuart, Sheba Henry, and Nicole Callendar will guide audiences through traditions from cornrows to locs. The evening ends with the Next-Gen Hair Innovators Challenge, spotlighting young talent eager to push boundaries.

The focus shifts on August 24 to body adornment and cultural expression, with workshops on henna, tattoo artistry, and creative fusion led by regional masters such as Sumaiyah Chauhan, Faheema Patel, and Theo O’Brien Farnell. The night crescendos with the Caribbean Roots Tattoo Showdown, proving that body art is as much history as it is innovation.

Tradition Meets Innovation

From ancestral remedies to modern techniques, August 25’s theme highlights how tradition and science converge in vibrant haircare. Kellyann Allicot of House of Ash brings ancestral knowledge to the fore, while Kaisha Beckles leads braiding artistry supported by demos from Brittney Trotman. The Hair Braiding Relay caps the evening, showing speed and skill at their best.

On August 26, “Spirit of Body Art” honours the role of paint in Mas’ and Carnival culture. Artists like Petra Haynes and Glen Brathwaite will transform bodies into living canvases, before the Cultural Canvas Body Art Battle ignites a thrilling competition of colour and creativity. Finally, August 27 closes with “Empowerment & Legacy”, where renowned stylist Adrian Carew leads a workshop bridging salon craft with on-set styling. The festival’s last hair competition, the Vanguard Hair Innovators Challenge, builds to the grand finale: the Global Excellence Showcase, where competition winners join featured artists like Nicole Callendar and Kaisha Beckles in a triumphant display of Caribbean brilliance.

Beyond Beauty

HAIR-ITAGE is more than a showcase, it’s a platform for learning, empowerment, and legacy. By connecting amateur and professional stylists, tattooists, body painters, and artisans, it invites the public to honour the traditions that have shaped Caribbean aesthetics while celebrating the bold innovations pushing the region forward.

As one of CARIFESTA XV’s most interactive programmes, the HAIR-ITAGE Showcase invites everyone to not just watch but participate, embodying the spirit of the Caribbean where hair, skin, and art all speak the language of culture, identity, and pride.