An event on Saturday is encouraging holiday shoppers to spend their money on locally owned businesses.
The Black Business Marketplace hopes to build community, while highlighting black-owned businesses in Rochester.
Adrian Elim is an organizer of the event now in its second year. He says shopping with local businesses is an investment in much more.
"When you support local businesses you’re supporting your local economy, but you’re supporting families. You’re supporting your neighbors, you’re supporting your community. So as the businesses within the neighborhood thrive, that only benefits the community."
Elim says events like these are necessary to help smaller businesses in the area gain more visibility.
"Coming from an economic perspective, with the statistics we have in Rochester around poverty and gentrification and things happening in our neighborhoods, there are a lot of local businesses who don’t necessarily get the support and resources of larger corporations or other businesses, or white owned businesses."
A variety of businesses are participating ranging from restaurants, clothing vendors, greeting card makers and writers.
The event hopes to highlight these shops, but Elim says he also hopes it inspire kids to be business owners themselves.
"Giving them an opportunity to see business owners that look like them so they can see that as a means of something they can do, an achievable goal. It also gives the community a chance to see the youth in a positive light and to really engage with them on a level that they might not normally get a chance to."
Local nonprofit BLACK sponsors the marketplace, and hires kids from their tutoring program at Arnett Library to help with the event.
The Black Business Marketplace will take place Saturday at the Wintergarden at 1 Bausch and Lomb place from 11am-5pm.