For three hours this Saturday, some of Tacoma’s youngest residents will be responsible for product development, pricing, marketing, customer service—and making change without calling the accounting department.
Approximately 80 young entrepreneurs will transform the Waterfront Market at Ruston into a marketplace of kid-created businesses during the next Tacoma Children’s Business Fair.
The free event runs from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, September 5, at 5101 Yacht Club Road.
Organizers are promoting 80 participating children representing as many as 65 businesses. The fair’s current online vendor directory lists 63 participating booths, making this one of the largest editions of the Tacoma event to date.
And these are not pretend storefronts.
The young business owners developed their own ideas, created products or services, established brands, planned how to market them and will be responsible for interacting with real customers on Saturday.
Participating entrepreneurs range from 5 to 17 years old. The event listing says they attend Tacoma Public Schools, while the fair’s broader application guidelines give preference to young people living in Tacoma and Pierce County.
The businesses are as varied—and inventively named—as their owners.
Saturday’s lineup includes Biggie Boy Bakery, The Dragon’s Workshop, Andrew’s 3D Printed Lab, Squeeze Sisters, The imPRESSive Nail Co., Buttons and Bookmarks, Kobe’s Brick Shop, Lyra’s Soaps and dozens more.
Shoppers can expect to find handmade artwork, jewelry, crochet, baked goods, stickers, toys, bookmarks, 3D-printed creations and other products dreamed up by the children themselves.
Some concepts are familiar. Others may be difficult to describe until their young founders deliver the sales pitch.
That is precisely the point.
The Tacoma Children’s Business Fair is designed to give kids a chance to learn entrepreneurship by actually doing it. Instead of completing a classroom worksheet about running a business, participants must decide what to sell, determine what customers might pay and discover whether their marketing strategy works.
They also receive an immediate lesson in what happens when a prospective customer walks past—or when an unexpectedly popular product begins selling out.
Parents are allowed to support younger participants and may sit with them at their booths. But the fair’s rules make it clear that the children should remain in charge of setting up, presenting their products, talking with customers and completing sales.
“Young people are the decision makers in everything regarding their business,” the organizers explain. Adults are encouraged to step back and let the participants solve problems, make decisions and learn from the outcome themselves.
The goal is progress, not a perfectly polished booth.
The Tacoma fair was created in 2024 by organizer Nicollette Roe to give local children a place to showcase their creativity and business skills. It has since grown into a recurring event held four or five times each year.
Applications can fill rapidly—sometimes within 24 hours. Organizers also try to limit the number of businesses selling similar products so that the children are not placed in direct competition with a dozen nearly identical booths.
Crochet, slime and 3D-printed toys are reportedly among the most frequently proposed ideas.
Saturday’s event is indoors, admission is free and parking around the Waterfront Market is also free. Vendor applications have closed, but members of the public are encouraged to attend as shoppers.
The fair is supported by Sound Community Bank, with the Hilltop Action Coalition serving as its nonprofit fiscal sponsor.
Of course, visitors may leave with cupcakes, bracelets, toys or a piece of original art. But every purchase delivers something more valuable to the person on the other side of the table.
It tells a young entrepreneur that an idea created in their imagination can become something a stranger is willing to buy.
For Tacoma residents who talk about supporting small businesses, Saturday offers an unusually literal opportunity to start small.
Event details
What: Tacoma Children’s Business Fair
When: Saturday, September 5, from noon to 3 p.m.
Where: Waterfront Market at Ruston, 5101 Yacht Club Road
Admission: Free
Parking: Free
For more information and to view a list of the businesses participating in the event, click here.
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