East St. Louis festival continues to promote Black businesses, plans for expansion
On a humid Sunday afternoon, dozens of vendors were lined up along State Street in East St. Louis for the first day of The Illinois Black Woodstock Festival. The two-day festival, which started last year, aims to spotlight the variety of Black-owned businesses in East St. Louis and beyond.
Courtney Woolery, who created the festival, said she feels honored to bring the festival to the city for the second consecutive year. She hopes for the festival to be known nationwide and build a community of Black-owned businesses throughout the country.
“This year, we got sponsored by IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) and we got sponsored by STL Blues, so we’re making waves,” Woolery, 32, said. “We got to make sure that if we get on that national level, we can have people from all over and they understand that this is the place to do that. “
Sunday’s event featured live performances, games, awards and a variety of business vendors from the metro-east, St. Louis, Detroit and Indiana. The festival will continue through Monday night, ending with a fireworks show. More than 50 businesses will be highlighted throughout the event.
Woolery said she’s seen more Black-owned businesses in the area since launching the festival but would like to see more. It’s why she wants to continue building a platform for them.
“This is what it’s all about,” Woolery said. “To be able to come out and do this. We’re meeting different people every year. I can honestly say that the vendors that we had last year, these are new people (for this year). A lot of people from St. Louis. There are more Detroit vendors.”
The Illinois Black Woodstock Festival is hosted by The Black Woodstock Foundation, an organization that provides resources to Black-owned businesses in East St. Louis. Woolery, along with her business partner Lauren Brooks, founded the organization last year.
“Our foundation just makes sure that we educate our Black-owned businesses, making sure that they get solidified the right way,” Woolery said. “If they don’t know much about it we want to take it from A to B, whether it be a business registration, public speaking or just as simple as helping with logos. We want to make sure that they have those resources here in East St. Louis.”
Latecea Brock is the owner of Beaded by his Grace, an online jewelry boutique. She was one of the vendors at the festival. Brock, of St. Louis, handcrafts her jewelry with gemstone beads, a practice she started a decade ago although she officially launched her business in 2019. She said she heard about the festival on Facebook and instantly wanted to participate.
“It’s really crucial for our community that we band together and stick together and really build a community for us because if we don’t support us, who else is going to do it,?” Brock said.
Community support is also important for Gerrian Watson, whose 7-year-old son owns Mason’s Lollipop Shoppe. The East St. Louis-based business was also a vendor at the festival. Watson, 35, said her and her son participated in the festival last year.
“It’s important to me because a lot of the time, Black-owned businesses, especially small businesses, are kind of looked over, so it’s important to me because I want people to understand and know that not all businesses are bad,” Watson said. “I just want to be a part of the good when it comes to helping our community.”
Woolery hopes her festival will continue to have a positive impact in East St. Louis.
“It’s a big thing. We need something like this,” Woolery said. “We need something that the people can be proud of and call their own, and (it’s) positive. Anything we can do to highlight the city, we do.”
The last day of The Illinois Black Woodstock Festival will start at 2 p.m. Monday at 8221 State St. It’ll conclude with a fireworks show at 8:20 p.m. Admission is free.
