Celebrating Diversity in Travel: Recap of Nomadness Fest
Highlights from Nomadness Fest, an Annual Event for Cultural Connections and Travel Tips
This year I attended my third Nomadness Fest in Charlotte, NC and it was amazing as always. My first time attending Nomadness was in Newark, NJ in 2022. I’d just quit my corporate job and wanted to be a festival blogger but it felt like a pipe dream. But, during the weekend I met so many successful Black and brown travel creators and left with inspiration and loads of ideas.
Nomadness Fest is a weekend for travelers of color and allies. The event is filled with good music, positive energy, resources and conversations to motivate and educate attendees. The main event takes place on Saturday but there are also professional events leading up to the festival. On Thursday, Industry Day was held to connect destinations with influencers and foster new partnerships. And, on Friday the city of Charlotte hosted a City Experiences tour that highlighted BIPOC-owned businesses and the Black history of NC’s Queen City.
On festival day, there were a variety of sessions including a “New Traveler Bootcamp” to help people feel more comfortable planning an international trip. During the “Travel Hacking: Alternative Ways to Fund That Trip” panel discussion travel experts like Gabby Beckford of Packs Light and Ronnie Dunston of Road to 100 Countries taught attendees how to travel for the low.
Beckford said one key factor to traveling for a low price is getting creative.“If you have a skillset to offer an organization, conference or school pitch them for a paid trip to provide your service and after 5 p.m. you can explore. It really is just finding what you do well, what is available to you and combining these opportunities to explore. It’s up to your imagination.”
Another session that I found very beneficial was hosted by Juliana Broste of TravelingJules. During her “Travel Video and Photo Creation” Workshop she taught us how to improve our photography skills by researching ahead of time and creating a shot list. She also shared a list of essentials to improve photo and video skills that I found really helpful.
As much as I learned during the festival, one of my favorite parts of the day was making custom lipstick in the Lip N Pour mobile studio. I’m a lipstick/gloss junkie and loved learning about how lipstick is made and creating “Got Purp?” my own shade of fuchsia.
All-in-all, Nomadness Fest 2024 was another great time to connect and learn. Be sure to follow them on Instagram and join the Nomadness Travel Tribe on Facebook to learn more about the mission and connect with like-minded travelers.
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