Observe the opportunity for children to launch their very own startup business!
Kids develop a brand, create a product or service, build a marketing strategy, and then open for customers at our one-day marketplace.
We will host 50 booths at the fifth annual event at Laurel Ave (between Eastern Ave & Carroll Ave) on Saturday May 3, 2025, rain date May 10 from 10:00am – 2:00pm.
This event is sponsored by Takoma Park local business owners and the generous support of our community and volunteers. We all believe that principled entrepreneurs are heroes and role models for the next generation.
Whether an entrepreneur is famous like Bill Gates 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.
Eric Saul Owner Saul Architects Eric Saul.png1.02 MB Ever since he could remember, Eric Saul has always been fascinated by buildings and architecture. What started with Lincoln Logs and Legos eventually became real buildings. Since founding Saul Architects in 2005, Eric has designed over $30 million in construction and over 250,000 square feet. Saul Architects has quickly become one of the leading residential architecture firms in Takoma Park and Silver Spring, MD. Saul Architects is licensed to practice architecture in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Eric resides in Takoma Park, Maryland with his wife, Diana, and his dog, The Dude. When he is not working or flipping houses, you can find Eric playing or coaching baseball.
Dr Lavanya Sithanandam Owner and Medical Director Park Pediatrics & Park Travel Medicine Dr Lavanya.png1.31 MB Lavanya Sithanandam, M.D. completed medical school at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois followed by pediatric residency at one of the nation’s top ranked children’s hospitals, Children’s National Medical Center in Washington D.C. Dr. Sithanandam is the medical director at Park Pediatrics and the director of their Reach Out & Read Program. She is a strong advocate for her patients, fluent in Spanish and is certified by the International Society of Travel Medicine. She is happily married with two beautiful sons.
Mei Mei Chang Installation/Mixed Media/Painting/Fiber Arts MEI MEI CHANG Mei Mei .png702.39 KB Mei Mei received her Master of Fine Arts in Photography from Ohio University in 2002. As a mixed media and installation artist, Mei Mei explores various media to bridge her internal and external worlds. She is a lifelong student of the human psyche, fascinated by the mind's ability to focus on details great and small without limits. Using her internal symbols, she creates rich visual images that are both highly personal and accessible by all.
Wakako Tokunaga AIA, NOMA, LEED AP, NCARB WAK TOK Architects Wakako judge.png739.62 KB Wakako is the founder of WAK TOK architects - a full service architecture studio offering innovative and authentic design solutions in response to each project’s unique needs. She is a registered architect, a member of the American Institute of Architects and the National Organization of Minority Architects, a National Council of Architectural Registration Board certified, and a LEED Accredited Professional, with over 27 years of experience in executing international award winning projects.
Wakako grew up in Tokyo, Japan, and now resides in Takoma Park, Maryland.
Chris Brown Owner Takoma Bev Co, Zinnia, Motorkat Chris Brown.png1.51 MB After completing his Peace Corps service in 2007, Chris settled in Takoma Park and began teaching science at Blair High School. Over the course of 8 years in education, he also nurtured his passion for food and beverage by working in the restaurant industry. Alongside his wife Kelly, Chris explored local cafes and restaurants, eventually realizing that Takoma Park lacked a strong community cafe. In 2017, they decided to pursue their dream, and Chris left his teaching career to open Takoma Beverage Company. Since then, he has expanded his entrepreneurial ventures, opening Zinnia, Soko Butcher, and Motorkat.
Zaia Miller is an 8th grade student currently attending Takoma Park Middle School. Through participation in DC's Acton's Children’s Business Fair in 2018 and 2019 Takoma Park Children’s Business Fair with her friend, Zaia built confidence in public speaking, critical thinking, time management, and working with money. She is looking forward to both participating as a Junior Judge and seeing what this year's young entrepreneurs have brought to the TKPKCBF.
Lilly Klecka Junior Judge 2024 Most Socially Conscious Winner Lily Klecka.png1014.43 KB Lilly Klecka is a seventh grader at Takoma Park Middle school, and is excited to be participating as a junior judge in this year’s Children’s Business Fair. As a business participant in the fair in 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024, Lilly explored what it took to create and showcase several different businesses. Each year she participated, she improved her entrepreneurial skills, winning several awards over the years. This year, Lilly is looking forward to seeing what creative new businesses will be represented at the fair and encouraging other young entrepreneurs.
Anushka Ramachandran is a 7th grader at Takoma Park Middle School. She was part of the Takoma Park Children’s Business Fair in 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Throughout the years that she has participated, she has learned many important skills like managing money, marketing and sales, and creative thinking. She is so honored to be a junior judge in this year’s fair and is excited to see the interesting ideas the participants bring to the business fair.
Katie Jett Walls is documentary photographer, creating visual stories for families in the Washington DC area, as well shooting documentary projects that give voice to those in marginalized communities and witness to the human experience.
Katie is the founder and editor of Confluence Magazine, which launched in September 2018, to highlight the documentary projects of emerging photo storytellers and connect them with gatekeepers in media and publishing.
Katie is a mom to a precocious second grader and wife to a precocious computer nerd.
Become a Sponsor
We invite you to celebrate the power of entrepreneurship with the following sponsorship levels. Your sponsorship provides resources for young entrepreneurs, and benefits your business through our marketing to parents and the larger entrepreneurship community in Takoma Park.
Please email us if you are interested in becoming a sponsor or donate now!
We are a team of local parents, who believe that our children can learn about entrepreneurship in a practical and fun way.
Our goal is for kids to acquire essential entrepreneurial skills - communication, creativity, critical thinking, time management, collaboration and grit.
It is important for our children to understand that success doesn't always come easy. Success, in fact, is all about trying, learning and getting better.
This event is sponsored by the generous support of Takoma Park business owners and volunteers, who all believe that principled entrepreneurs are heroes and role models for the next generation.
2023 summer we were incredibly honored to be the recipient of the 17th Annual Azalea Awards as Youth Leaders by Takoma Foundation.
🔥We invite you to join us and ignite your child’s entrepreneurial passions!🔥
What is Takoma Park Children’s Business Fair? Takoma Park Children’s Business Fair inspires children to discover their inner entrepreneur. The largest entrepreneurship event for children in North America, this one-day market gives children the opportunity to showcase their very own businesses.
When and where will it be held? 2025 Takoma Park Children’s Business Fair will be held at Laurel Ave (between Eastern Ave & Carroll Ave) on Saturday May 3, 2025 from 10:00am – 2:00pm. Businesses can start setting up at 9:00 am.
What is the rain date? The rain date will be May 10, 2025.
Who can participate? Children who are ages 6 to 14 on the date of the business fair can participate.
Scholarship and assistance are available! Please email us.
How does it work? Young entrepreneurs submit an application and then begin to build a product or service. They plan their business at every level: product/service, marketing, accounting, cost of goods, pricing, and more.
Accepted applicants will sell their product or service to real customers from a booth at the fair.
How many businesses will you accept? We will accept up to 50 businesses.
Is there a fee to participate? We will collect a $35 participation fee from all accepted businesses. The fee will be collected online via Paypal prior to the fair.
Unsure where to begin? Our advice is to keep it simple.
First, think about what you can make with your own hands that others might enjoy.
Next, picture how you might sell it.
Finally, imagine the feeling (and responsibility) of having a little extra spending money as a result.
Learn more about the 3 Magic Seedsfor starting a business.
Looking for business ideas or just curious about other young entrepreneurs? Read these inspiring stories.
Business Ideas for kids from other fairs all over the country!
How do I apply? Can I apply as part of a group? Application must be submitted online by March 15, 2025. Please submit one application for each business. Children working as a group should submit one application that includes each child’s information. Space are limited and can be filled very quickly, we encourage siblings or friends to team up as one application so more people can participate. No more than 3 participants per business. If children of different age groups submit a business together, they will be judged in the age group of the oldest participant. Applications will be accepted for the 2025 business fair from March 1 through March 15, 2025.
What is on the application? The application asks children 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?
How will the fair be set up? 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. Here is a site plan.
Will electricity be available? Unfortunately, we are not able to provide electricity to the booths.
Will there be prizes? Yes. We believe that starting and running your own business is its own reward, but in order to recognize those entrepreneurs who go above and beyond, we have awards in specific categories:
Most original business idea Best branding/marketing Best sales presentation/pitch Most Socially Conscious
All entries will be automatically entered in the business competition. The competition will be judged according to the following four age groups: 6-7, 8-10, 11-12, and 13-14. If children of different age groups submit a business together, they will be judged in the age group of the oldest participant.
Judges will ask the entrepreneurs questions about the fundamentals of their business, such as how they came up with product prices and who their target market is. Judges will also evaluate how much of the business reflects the child's own work (versus the parents'). Prizes will be presented at the end of the fair.
What are the rules? This event is designed to give children the experience of creating a business and selling a product or service. If a parent is found creating a business for a child or selling or promoting a child’s product or service, the child’s business will be disqualified from consideration for an award.
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.
What advice do you have for parents? Please remember to keep this about the children. Let them imagine, create, and problem solve. Your job is to maintain enthusiasm and provide encouragement.
Keep it simple. This is a children’s fair. Let the business plan, booth, and sales reflect your child at her/his best, not your best.
Let your child do the work. Let her make mistakes and learn from them. Let him problem solve and come up with his own solutions. Let her be messy! Let your child be the Chair of the Board, CEO, and owner of his/her ideas.
If your child gets stuck, return to the key question for her entrepreneurial journey: “What can I make with my own hands that others might enjoy?”
The Acton Children's Business Fair does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin and admits and gives all hosts and participants access to the same rights, privileges, programs and activities.
