Detroit community gathers for second Juneteenth Freedom Fest
Eastern Market was bustling for the Juneteenth Freedom Fest as crowds gathered to celebrate African American culture and liberation.
The event, sponsored by the City of Detroit, Metro Detroit Black Business Alliance, Charles H. Wright Museum, and others, had a large turnout for the second annual festival, which featured plenty of businesses, entertainment, and friendly competitions
More than 60 Black-owned businesses filled the shed with products ranging from beauty to baked goods to mocktails.
Andrea Jones, an owner of Nothing Bundt Cakes, greeted crowds, encouraging them to dig into the delicious baked goods on display.
“We’re nothing but cakes! We only sell bundt cakes,” Jones said. “We have 11 flavors that we offer in the bakery, several are with us today.”
Jones said the most popular flavor of the day was lemon, and other customer favorites include red velvet, chocolate cholate chip, and white chocolate raspberry.
Nothing Bundt Cakes has two locations owned by Jones, one in Sterling Heights and the second in Ann Arbor.
Another business owner, Karlyta Williams, served up mocktails with a perfect motto.
“I love a good time and so that’s why the motto of Mockery is “zero proof 100% fun” because I just really believe that drinking with friends is a ritual,” Williams said.
Williams said she started out her mocktail journey during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when she started looking for drink alternatives. After starting off small, Williams now offers mobile on-site services and has served parties of up to 250 people.
“Mockery is the result of me going through quarantine and looking for different options outside of wine and cocktails and things like that and I stumbled across mocktails and I just kind of fell in love,” she said.
Williams said everything is handmade and freshly pressed from start to finish. She makes the drink syrups seasonally and avoids preservatives while using cane sugar for a more natural flavor.
“I don’t think anybody can say their best conversation was had over alcohol because you overshare, things get bad,” she said. “That’s my favorite part about it. You’re not losing out on the good time or the ritual and you’re still able to connect to people.”
Janae Wilson, operations manager at Prosperus Detroit, greeted attendees and educated them about services offered by their organization.
Prosperus Detroit, a community development financial institution, has serviced over 1400 entrepreneurs in the area.
“We support entrepreneurs in Detroit, Hamtramck, Highland Park, and Inkster with opportunities to gain the capital needed to grow and launch their businesses. Our average borrower has a credit score of about 530 to 560,” Wilson said. “We try to really reach out to the community and connect with people who otherwise would be overlooked for the opportunities we offer.”
Wilson said other services are available with the loan, including training programs and business services.
“Our training class is a 12-week class which walks people through how to start their business, how to finalize the business plan, but they also get one-to-one business coaching for ten hours included with the class,” she said.
Born and raised in Detroit, Wilson said she’s proud of her career and work of the organization.
“It really motivates me, especially being from the community,” she said. “To me, it’s super important to be able to service these entrepreneurs who are overlooked a lot of times. If you have a credit score of 530, you cannot go to a traditional bank and get a business loan unfortunately so that makes me very proud to work here.”
Outside the shed, crowds gathered for various activities to celebrate Father’s Day and hip-hop, while providing a comfortable space for both kids and adults.
Two major Father’s Day events took place including a Dad Cook-Off and a Cool Dad Award. The Cool Dad Award, sponsored by the Detroit Lions, recognized five fathers nominated by their families.
Performers also took the stage throughout the day to celebrate 50 years of hip hop featuring artists such as Gary Chandler, Don Q, and DJ BJ.
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A grown zone, sponsored by Tito’s, was available for those over the age of 21. There was also a designated kid’s zone with a video game truck, bounce houses, and more.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Juneteenth Freedom Fest kicks off at Eastern Market for second year
