Texarkana’s first Minority Owned Business Expo and Makers Market set for Saturday

TEXARKANA, Texas — Community groups are teaming up to hold the Twin Cities’ first Minority Owned Business Expo and Makers Market on Saturday at the Texarkana Convention Center.

The event will highlight over 30 vendors and businesses, and admission is free. Attendees will have the opportunity to showcase their businesses while selling their products. There will be several workshops for attendees on topics such as financial literacy and how to market their products.

Organizers include Communities Unlimited, SBDC of Northeast Texas, the city of Texarkana, Texas, the A&M-Texarkana Financial Literacy Council, Texarkana Chamber of Commerce and Regions Bank.

City Director of Planning, Community Development, and Health Vashil Fernandez said hosting events like these helps small businesses get noticed.

“It will provide resources for minority-owned businesses as well as for people who have an idea to start a business and trying to figure out what steps they need to take,” he said.

Dawn Parker with Communities Unlimited said the event was a community effort.

“This is now sincerely a collaborative effort among several agencies, and we want to make this a yearly event,” she said.

Fernandez said he thinks this is a needed event for the city of Texarkana.

“Small businesses are an integral part of our city, and to have an opportunity to provide more resources for these businesses to be successful helps our economy overall,” he said.

The expo is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at the Texarkana Convention Center, 2910 S. Cowhorn Creek Loop. For more information or to become a vendor, call Parker at 479-684-8537.