A free nonprofit program of one-day markets where young entrepreneurs ages 6-17 launch real businesses and sell to real customers. Here is what the network adds up to.
Fairs held are confirmed events on the network calendar since July 2025. Entrepreneur, visitor, and booth figures are summed from hosts' post-fair reports in the same window.
At an Acton Children's Business Fair, young entrepreneurs ages 6-17 invent a product or service, build it themselves, set their own prices, and spend one day selling to real customers. Volunteer hosts organize each fair in their own community, and the program—the playbook, the website, and the prize money—is a free gift from the nonprofit Acton Academy network. Adults cheer from the sidelines; the young entrepreneurs do the selling.
“The moment a first-time entrepreneur makes that first sale, the whole fair cheers. It never gets old.”
“They run everything themselves—the signs, the prices, the pitch. Our job as adults is to stay out of the way.”
“We planned for a quiet morning in the park, and the whole neighborhood showed up.”
Writing a story or backing a fair? We can share local numbers, photos, and host introductions from anywhere in the network.
Contact the teamcbfteam@actonacademy.org · www.childrensbusinessfair.org