📣 Applications for the 2025 Naperville Children's Business Fair are now CLOSED! To join our waitlist, join the mailing list and we will notify you if a spot opens up for our event.

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Naperville Children's Business Fair

Saturday, August 9, 2025

10:00AM - 2:00PM

Naperville Central High School

440 Aurora Ave, Naperville, IL 60540, USA

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About the fair

APPLICATIONS UPDATE: Applications for the 2025 Naperville Children's Business Fair are now CLOSED! Join our waitlist by joining our mailing list, and we will notify you if a spot opens up.

As seen on FOX NEWS, NCTV17, and Patch ... the 5th Annual Naperville Children's Business Fair! This event, run by local high school students, features a unique opportunity for children ages 5-14 to test the waters of entrepreneurship - through starting their own businesses and selling products and services at our one day, farmers market type event. Our past four fairs have been a huge success, with over 500 kidpreneurs and 350 businesses positively impacting an estimated 5000+ community members.

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2023 Fair - even the rain couldn't stop us!

During the fair, participants are able to showcase their businesses to the local community, and receive feedback from both high school judges and local business professionals! At the end, awards are given out to standout businesses.

What the community had to say about last year's fair:

Very exciting opportunity for young people to get involved, start a business, and really make a positive contribution to our business community.

- Steve Chirico, Naperville mayor

My daughter had such a great time! She learned SO many life lessons through this experience. We are so grateful!

- Parent

For me it really helped me get my business off of the ground and get a good base of customers!

- Kidpreneur

It was better than just a lemonade stand.

- Parent

Check out our feature on FOX News at https://www.fox32chicago.com/video/963907!

Our Pre-Fair Workshops
Prior to our fair, we host 3 prefair events at the Nichols Library in Downtown Naperville. Each event includes committee-led activities and lessons that teach our young entrepreneurs the basics of finance, marketing, and more. We also bring in guest speakers, from business professionals to past participants, to discuss their experiences and offer advice! These tips and tricks are extremely helpful when it comes time for the actual fair in August.

Last year, we brought in cameras to take professional photos of kidpreneurs and their products to help promote them on social media!

This year, our fairs are open to the public - sign up below!
Registrations for this year's prefair events have not opened yet.

We hope to see you on 8/9 - email us at napervillebusinessfair@gmail.com with any questions!

Hosted by

Athena Chen

🗓️ Started hosting in 2020

🚀 Has hosted 4 fairs

We're Zaid, Paul, Hiba, Aiden, Zahra, Prakruthi, Tai, and Athena!

We're a committee of local high schoolers from Naperville Central and Naperville North passionate about business. We're so excited to be hosting this year's fair and can't wait to impact hundreds of young kidpreneurs!

88 booths participating

CL Corner Shoppe or Laila’s Lemonade

Beaded Bliss by Sienna Jolie

And 86 others.

Contact host

Having issues? Report fair

Frequently asked questions

Important Notes for 2025:

We will only be accepting businesses selling original, handmade items. Unfortunately, this means that resellers will not be able to participate.
Tents will not be provided, but are strongly encouraged, as the fair will be taking place outdoors. If you don't have a tent, we will try to put you under shade, especially businesses with perishable goods.
We'll be hosting three prefair workshops at the Nichols Library Community Room (lower level), where kidpreneurs can learn from past participants, hear guest speakers, and do hands on activities to help improve their businesses for the fair! **Dates and times TBD
During the fair, participants will have the opportunity to showcase their businesses and receive feedback from both high school judges and local business professionals! Awards will be given out at the end, as well as a group picture.

Why should I participate?

First off - it's incredibly FUN. You'll be able to meet tons of new friends and interact with experienced mentors along the way!

Even if you aren't interested in business as a future job, creating and running a business young allows kids to gain a variety of skills for any career, in a very hands-on way!

How do I apply? Can I apply as part of a group?

Applications 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.

Remember that if you need to back out after applying, please let us know at least 10 days in advance and contact us through this website, or napervillebusinessfair@gmail.com!

What happens after I apply?

We'll be reviewing all applications on a first come, first serve basis and will get back to you within 5 business days. Once you're admitted, get started on your business! If you can, make sure to attend our three prefair workshops (Dates & times TBD) to improve your business (more info above!).

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 if we receive more than 3 similar businesses, we will let later entries know if another applicant has a similar idea so the later entrant can decide what to do.

What will be provided?

The fair will be an outdoor event. Each business will be provided with an 8' x 2.5' table and 1-3 chairs, depending on the number of kidpreneurs participating. Parents and guardians, please bring your own chairs.
Participants will also be receiving a free kidpreneur bucket hat, a certificate of participation, and a coupon for a free scoop of Jeni's Ice Cream in downtown!

What will NOT be provided?

Unfortunately, we are not able to provide overhead tenting to booths. Bringing your own tent is strongly recommended, as this is an outdoor event. There is limited tree cover and the weather on fair day can be very unpredictable.
Electricity, water, and WiFi will not be provided.
Access to Naperville Central bathrooms will be provided for kidpreneurs.

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 fair.
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 wanted to spark a sense of entrepreneurship in their children so they created the first Acton Children’s Business Fair in Austin, Texas, in 2007.