Kidpreneurs Fair Pennsylvania
Saturday, September 19, 2026
12:00PM - 4:00PM
Messiah University Campus Store
Eisenhower Campus Center, 1 University Ave., Mechanicsburg, PA 17055, USA
Currently accepting applications 🏁
Apply to the fair
About the fair
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 100 booths at the 3rd Kidpreneurs Fair to be held at BRUBAKER AUDITORIUM, 1 UNIVERSITY AVE MECHANICSBURG, PA 17055 March 15th, 2025 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. A nominal cost of $25 per booth will be charged. Payments will be accepted at the day of the Fair in the welcome tent.
This event is hosted by Ashruta Shettar and Pradeep Patil-IT professionals and passionate parents of twin 9 year old girls. The event is sponsored by Sugaring NYC and the generous support of our donors and volunteers. We all believe that principled entrepreneurs are heroes and role models for the next generation.
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.
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.
- 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 March , and will continue to receive applicants until we reach our cap of 100 businesses.
- Instead of an application fee at the time of submission, we will instead be collecting a e.g. $25 participation fee from all accepted business ideas.
Hosted by
Ashruta Shettar
🗓️ Started hosting in 2022
✅ Identity verified
⭐️ 3.7 (7)
Frequently asked questions
What is the Acton Children’s Business Fair?
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.
How many businesses will you accept?
We will accept up to 130 businesses.
Where should I begin?
Start with our resources page. Read inspiring stories about other young entrepreneurs and play games to hone your business skills.
How do I apply? Can I apply as part of a group?
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.
What is on the application?
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?
What if someone else has the same business idea?
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.
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.
Will electricity be available?
Unfortunately, we are not able to provide electricity to the booths.
What are the rules?
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.
How did the Acton Children’s Business Fair get started?
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.
