Barbers from throughout Arkansas will convene at Little Rock’s Mosaic Templars Cultural Center on Oct. 27 for the inaugural Barber Connect Showcase Day.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Barbershop Talk research team is presenting the showcase. Barbershop Talk is a study that encourages men to avoid heavy alcohol consumption as a way to improve health.
“With Barber Connect, this is an opportunity for barbers who participate in the Barbershop Talk program to come together and meet other barbers who also care about the well-being of their community,” said Camille Hart, program director of Barbershop Talk. “We want the barbers to not only collaborate but also to take the offered resources and health information from Barber Connect and promote it in their communities.”
The daylong showcase is comprised of two sessions.
The opening session is exclusively for participants of Barbershop Talk, the program’s community partners and barbers wanting to learn more about the research project.
The evening session of Barber Connect begins at 5 p.m. and is open to the public. It kicks off with a networking session that leads into the premiere of a film highlighting Barbershop Talk.
The short film chronicles the study, which launched in August 2023, and is currently in 44 Arkansas barbershops spanning 14 counties.
The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center is located at 501 W. Ninth St., in downtown Little Rock. For more information about the event, send an email to barbershoptalk@uams.edu or call (501) 444-2133.