BALITMORE — Instead of playing with dolls, these ladies are making them.
"I got this fascination with dolls," said Nikki Nichols-Ridgely.
Nichols-Ridgely is a paraprofessional for Baltimore County Schools, she decided to put her curiosity and crafting to a good cause.
"I need to build these girls up. I need to build these women up," Nichols-Ridgely said.
She reached out to her friend professor Gabrielle McLemore from Morgan State to help her with a very unique Juneteenth celebration.
"What I want out of this whole thing is for young women to feel comfortable using what we are providing, creating something beautiful. That's what it's about," McLemore said.
McLemore had already made two dolls of her own, so with her accessories and her pipe cleaner, she's lending a hand to help Nichols-Ridgley put on an African doll making workshop for Juneteenth.
"Once you secure it to the doll then you can start really building on it and shaping it which is what I did with these two," McLemore said.
Nichols-Ridgley is making her doll first, and this weekend when they make their dolls with their guests, they'll let them know they're encouraged to see themselves in their creations.
"Juneteenth is about community. It's about the elderly, it's about generational gaps that's what is going to be here," Nichols-Ridgely said.
In addition to making the dolls, they will also have live music and a Juneteenth cuisine Saturday at SoBotanical from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for the holiday celebration.
"One of the best gifts us older ladies have to give to younger ladies is how freaking cool it is to be an older black lady. That's it," McLemore said.
