At SheaMoisture’s pop-up festival during Toronto Carnival weekend, it did all three. For four glorious days, SheaFest transformed a corner of Stackt’s award-winning container playground into a powerful, playful love letter to Black identity—delivered in hair balm and affirmations.

Part of SheaMoisture Canada’s “Yes, And” campaign, this wasn’t your basic braid bar and promo table setup. This was a full-bodied celebration of unapologetic Black self-expression, wrapped in vibrant design, curated joy, and a vibe so warm it felt like coming home.

Hair was the hook. But community was the crown

I was barely five steps in before being offered a cold drink, a seat, and a smile that said, “You’re seen.” Stylists offered free wash-day relief with real advice and no judgment. Brand ambassadors actually cared. DJs spun tracks that awakened something primal in your shoulders.

And then there was the magazine. Six bold covers, same affirming message: “Yes, And”—a keepsake packed with tutorials, product recipes, and deeply personal letters to the culture. This wasn’t about pushing coconut-scented curl puddings or edge control gels. This was about seeing, hearing, and celebrating the fullness of who we are.

“You are not just one thing. You are everything,” says Maureen Kitheka, SheaMoisture’s Marketing Lead for Canada, as we watch a woman with fresh box braids pose for photos at the booth’s selfie station. The phrase is the heartbeat of their “Yes, And” campaign, a bold declaration that refuses to let Black women be reduced to single narratives.

“Yes, there are societal barriers. Yes, we’ve been boxed in. And we’re still here, still shifting, still showing up bold. That “and” is the rally cry—not despite, but because of.”

SheaMoisture knows that in the Black community, hair is political, spiritual, and generational. It’s memory.

“Our hair has been asked to behave in one way, but we know it doesn’t have to,” Maureen says. “One day curls, the next a silk press, braids next week. We contain multitudes.”

This ethos shows up in everything from the playful chaos of the photo booths to the presence of Toronto’s legacy stylists, who turned Stackt market into a tribute to Eglinton West beauty shops of the ‘90s. Nostalgia meets now, and it clicked.

Intentionality was the real star

The verdict? SheaMoisture showed up for Black Toronto—and they got it right. More than 90% of the vendors were Black. The food, the stylists, the music, every detail was chosen with intention. This was a nod to the culture; shaped by the people who live it. Even the location choice felt deliberate: Stackt Market during Carnival, where foot traffic is heavy and diverse, where Black culture is already being celebrated in the streets.

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“We wanted people to walk in and feel free. But also celebrated,” says Maureen. That’s a subtle but seismic shift from how Black women often feel in beauty spaces: observed but not honoured.

And that joy? It wasn’t performative. It was intimate. When you saw someone dance alone under the DJ booth or heard a quiet “thank you” from a guest who finally saw themselves on a magazine cover, it hit different.

“Yes, And” didn’t just land. It lingered

At its core, “Yes, And” is about rejecting binaries: straight or curly, loud or soft, activist or artist. You can be serious in one photo and radiant in the next. SheaFest reminds us that you are not just one thing. You are everything. And that message matters, especially now, when joy and nuance can feel like luxuries.

If you missed it, I’m sorry. But the ripple effect of SheaFest is still moving through the city. Through the girls who got their hair braided for the first time. Through the uncles who waited patiently and left holding tote bags for their daughters. Through every shelf that now carries “Yes, And” like a whisper from the culture to itself: We see you. We love you. Keep going.