Kidpreneurs Fair PA-2023 event image
📣 We are still accepting applications for 2023 fair!

Kidpreneurs Fair PA-2023

Saturday, October 28, 2023

12:00PM - 4:00PM

1 HACC Dr

Harrisburg, PA 17110, USA

Up to 100 businesses

This fair has ended

About the fair
Kids: you can be the next Elon Musk or Oprah Winfrey!

Whether you develop a brand, create a product or service, build a marketing strategy, and then open for customers at our one-day marketplace—or simply come to observe others' businesses—you'll learn about what it takes to be an entrepreneur and meet other budding entrepreneurs. Our goal is to help you develop "entrepreneurial thinking" so that when you're older and ready to start your own business, you'll know how!

Whether an entrepreneur is famous like Elon Musk or Oprah Winfrey or they are one of the thousands of unsung business owners across this country, these are the people who make sacrifices to innovate, create jobs and serve their communities.

Event Details
We will host 80 booths at the 2nd Kidpreneurs Fair to be held at the HACC Foundation Cooper Student Center, 1 HACC Drive, Harrisburg, PA-17110, October 28th, 2023, 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

A nominal cost of $25 per booth will be charged. Payments will be accepted at the day of the Fair at the sign in booth.

Hosted By
This event is hosted by Ashruta Shettar and Pradeep Patil-IT professionals and passionate parents of twin 7 year old girls. They strongly believe that entrepreneurship teaches life skills that can be used across any professions in future. They believe in inculcating these skills in the youngsters very early and are trying to give Kidpreneurs Fair as an opportunity to do so. 

Sponsored By
The event is sponsored by Sugaring NYC-Harrisburg and co sponsored by Acton Academy, the Acton School of Business and the generous support of our donors and volunteers.  We all believe that principled entrepreneurs are heroes and role models for the next generation.


Application Guidelines

  • Please submit one application for each business. (Children working as a group may submit one
  • application with all children’s info.)
  • The competition will be judged in the following SIX age categories: Ages 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-16.
  • If children of different age groups prepare a booth together, they will be judged in the age group of the oldest participant.
  • There will be NO soliciting personal/individual business sponsors for your child's product.
  • Water and Sodas cannot be sold as a business
  • Please note that you may help your child fill out the booth application, but depending on their age, they are expected to do as much as possible by themselves.
  • We will begin to notify accepted applicants in early September , and will continue to receive applicants until we reach our cap of 80 businesses.
Hosted by

Ashruta Shettar

🗓️ Started hosting in 2022

Identity verified

⭐️ 3.7 (7)

Entrepreneur, mom, and first-generation immigrant who believes the best classroom is a farmers market table. I own two Sugaring NYC studios in Central PA, where women’s empowerment is the heart of my business model.

I founded Kidpreneurs Fair PA in 2022 to give kids ages 5–16 something no textbook can: the confidence of their very first sale and how money is truly earned. 

Year 2022 - 35 Businesess - 60 Kids - 250 Shoppers
Year 2023 - 60 Businesses - 85 Kids - 400 Shoppers
Year 2025 - 80 Businesses - 160 Kids - 750 Shoppers
- and we're just getting started.

Watching these kids count their earnings is the msot fullfilling work I do. This is where I love to pour my heart! 

My mission is simple — invest in people, strengthen the community, and leave every door I walk through a little more open than I found it.

Frequently asked questions

The Acton Children’s Business Fair inspires children to discover their inner entrepreneur. The largest entrepreneurship event for kids in North America, this one-day market gives children the opportunity to showcase their very own businesses.

Start with our resources page. Read inspiring stories about other young entrepreneurs and play games to hone your business skills.

Application must be submitted online. Please submit one application for each business. Children working as a group should submit one application that includes each child’s information. No more than 3 participants per business.

The application asks kids to think through some simple, but important elements of their business:

What product or service do you plan to sell?
What price will you charge for each product/service? How much will each product/service cost you?
How will you pay for your startup costs? If someone is helping you with your startup costs, how will you pay that person back?
How will you advertise/market your business before the fair?
At the end of the fair, how will you determine if your business was a success?

Two cupcake businesses? Not a problem. In general, we will let market forces play out, though we will let later entries know if another applicant has a similar idea so the later entrant can decide what to do.

The fair will be a tented outdoor event with booths. Each business will be given a booth with an 8-foot table (to share with one other business), full-cover tenting, and 1-2 chairs. Table cloths will not be provided. We are not able to accommodate businesses requiring electricity.

This event is designed to give children the experience of selling a product or service. If a parent is found selling or promoting a child’s product or service, their child’s business will be disqualified from the competition.

Parents of younger children may sit in the booth, but the children should be responsible for set up, customer interaction, and sales.

Parents may help their child fill out the application, but we expect the children to do as much as possible by themselves.

Jeff and Laura Sandefer and a few other families wanted to spark a sense of wonder and entrepreneurship in their children so they created the first Acton Children’s Business Fair in Austin, Texas, in 2007. That year, there were seven entrepreneurs and around 25 attendees. Now, there are over 115 entrepreneurs and 1,500 attendees at the Acton Children's Business Fair in Austin.

Our incredible sponsors

Children's Business Fair

Acton Academy

Next Great Adventure

SugaringNYC Harrisburg