Attendees can enjoy beautiful examples of local stylists’ work while supporting a good cause at this month’s Lehigh Valley Hair Showcase in Bethlehem.
The second annual showcase will occur 1-4 p.m. March 22 at Wind Creek Bethlehem.
It will host models who will show off the hair work and fashion of Lehigh Valley stylists, a $250 gift card prize for the participating salon that raises the most money in ticket sales, vendors for fashion and jewelry, food and cocktails, music, and the stylist Gregory Patterson from “Project Runway.”
Proceeds from the event will go to the Boys & Girls Club of Bethlehem, to which people can also donate through the showcase website.
The showcase kicked off last year under three founding organizers and stylists working in Bethlehem: Alison Leigh of Hair by Eskandalo!, Andrea Lee DeJesus of A-List Salon and Joel Goyco of East Coast Hair Co.
Even before the three met a few years ago, they all wanted to do a showcase like this. For Leigh, it was a chance to let stylists choose the hairstyle and fashion for the show rather than being told what to do.
“I feel like it’s important to host an event like this because I truly believe that there is a ton of talent in the Lehigh Valley specifically,” Leigh said. “I’ve noticed this through all the years I’ve been here, that there are tons of talented hairstylists.”
DeJesus wanted to bring to the Lehigh Valley the kind of fashion and hair shows one can find in New York and Philadelphia, and said it was important to support the Boys & Girls Club. Last year, the showcase raised nearly $11,000 for the organization, a number DeJesus hopes to double this year.
“It was important to me that it was non-competitive, and that it was for charity,” she said. “So bringing the Boys & Girls Club in is very personal to me because I grew up in the Boys & Girls Club, so I’m very familiar with how they help the community.”
For Goyco, the showcase is a chance to highlight the “industry.”
“I want to share that our industry can be lucrative and that there’s a lot of autonomy in the industry,” he said. “So to me, this is a way to … we’re creating a platform that can unite salons. Not only unite salons, but shine a light on small businesses and entrepreneurs in general. So it’s kind of just like a scream from the mountaintop, pride energy, it’s shining the light on industry.“
Tickets are available on the event website at lvhairshowcase.com.