Shop Black Fest is celebrating Black entrepreneurship in Huntsville on Saturday. The festival will host over 100 Black-owned businesses. It will also feature performances, vendors, and food trucks.
Greg and Tee Westbrook, a husband-and-wife duo, are the founders of Shop Black Fest. The couple launched the event back in 2019 with the goal to help Black entrepreneurs gain more visibility and increase revenue for their business.
“It’s important to support small Black-owned businesses. That is the root of our ecosystem when it comes to supporting our culture and supporting the things that we care about,” said Greg Westbrook.
Since 2019, the couple has hosted over 50 vendor events for 1,000 Black-owned businesses.
“It’s just an overall empowering experience. We like to say that once you are a part of the Shop Black Fest family, you have a safe space as an entrepreneur to connect with other people and to grow,” said Tee Westbrook.
“Attendees can expect a good time, or as we like to say, a “blackity black” time. It’s very reminiscent of homecoming and HBCU culture,” she said.
In addition to the Shop Black Fest, there is also the Shop Black University Expo. Although the expo is set for this Fall, individuals can register now to attend.
Tee Westbrook said the expo is a business-to-business conference for black entrepreneurs.
“It will be beneficial to attendees because they will have an amazing experience networking and getting to know other local businesses and other traveling businesses from across the country,” said Greg Westbrook.
The Shop Black Fest event is set this Saturday from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Butler Green in Huntsville. It's free to the public.
