Children’s Business Fair
Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 30, 10 AM–1 PM, at the Aquarium and Ocean Discovery Park.
Join us for this special opportunity to watch young entrepreneurs launch their own businesses, showcasing creativity, hard work, and big dreams for an all in one fun, inspiring day.
The fair is $10 per business to attend and participate in and open to the public. The kids get to keep all the money they make!
Only 75 booths available! Sign up now!
Rules & Guidelines For Entrepreneurs
- The entrepreneur is responsible for the setup, sales and interacting with the customer.
- Age Categories: 6-8, 9-10, 11-13, and 14-17
- This event is designed to give children the experience of selling a product or service. The products should be handmade. Reselling pre-made or purchased products is not allowed.
- 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.
- Business owners are responsible for all monetary transactions.
FAQ
The Avila Beach Children’s Business Fair inspires children to discover their inner entrepreneur. This one-day market gives children the opportunity to showcase their very own businesses.
We will accept up to 75 businesses (based on space and availability, this number could change).
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. Each individual participating needs to purchase a $10 entry ticket. This cost is considered the booth rental fee. No more than 3 participants per business. All applications are reviewed and applicants will be notified if they are selected to participate. Applicants are selected by host based on several different criteria. Unfortunately we always receive more applications than space allows for but you will automatically be added to the waitlist if you don’t get in.
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?
The fair will be an event with individual booths. Each business will be given a booth with an approximately 8-foot table (to share with one other business). Chairs will not be provided unless specifically requested on-site. Chairs are limited so please bring your own if you need a chair. Table cloths and booth business name display signs will be provided. The fair is outside in the garden area of the Avila Community Center. Shopping bags will be will be provided on a first come first service basis to shoppers, so if businesses want to ensure shoppers have bags, please have some extras on hand and be prepared to provide them.
Unfortunately, we are not able to provide electricity to the majority of booths. *If you MUST have electricity, please contact us to see if we can make special arrangements but electricity is not guaranteed.
Yes, there are restrooms on the first and second floor of the facility.
Parking is very limited in Avila Beach. The back and sides of the aquarium will be open for setting up prior to the event. We recommend you unload your items and park in the adjacent lot. We think keeping the easy access spaces available for guests helps encourage more foot traffic. Please park, and encourage shoppers, to park in the public pay lot. There may be some street parking available, but that is also limited.