“Blackbird singing in the dead of night. Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise…” -The Beatles. These lyrics are the inspiration to the annual Blackbird Fly event produced by Artina “QPDoll” Sharpton, owner of QPDoll Accessories. The lyrics resonated with Artina because she feels that those words speak volumes to what she sees young girls and women of our communities are experiencing.
In 2010, BBF launched as a proactive response to the condition of young women in our society. Many of whom have not had the proper training or environment to grow from girls to young ladies. The world has moved around them, and in some cases right by them…far too fast. Blackbird Fly is focused on giving these young women ages 10-21 a stepping stone into what life not only could be like for them…but SHOULD be like for them.
Blackbird Fly is a two day multi-cultural , nondenominational, intergenerational
experience that occurs the last weekend of March as a celebration and closing to International Women’s Month. Young ladies are exposed to the myriad opportunities available to them in life by attending a versatile choice of workshops on day one BBFest. Day 2 the young ladies gather the combination of success and swag and attend the Blackbird Fly Gala.