A unique maker market is being held at the Bing Rooming House Museum this weekend that will offer local small businesses the opportunity to make a mark in the community.
Hosted by G.R.O.W. Plant City, a new group that stands for Generating Resources, Opportunities and Wellness, the Juneteenth Laura Street Market will be held at the Bing Rooming House Museum, 205 Allen St. from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
“The Bing Rooming House is located adjacent to Laura Street, which is the local historic black business district in Plant City,” Major Sykes, spokesman for G.R.O.W. PC, said. “There were businesses all over town, but this was the hub. It had everything. I’m too young to remember what it used to be like, but I’ve heard the stories about it and we wanted to tie in our first event to the local history of what our community did during Jim Crow and throughout history, to highlight how they provided for themselves and continued to work toward building a prosperous future.”
G.R.O.W. PC began in March of this year and has a mission of embracing and promoting generational wellness and prosperity. Largely comprised of millennials and young adults, Sykes said the group has been meeting frequently in preparation for this event in hopes of coming on to the scene with a strong success for local small businesses.
In their minds a maker market at the Bing House right by Laura Street on Juneteenth just made sense. It is a perfect homage to the past while also setting the stage for those small businesses to have a loyal following in Plant City. It’s a concept many seem to be on board with as approximately 20 vendors had signed up by the start of June.
Attendees can expect to see everything from jewelry to athletic wear at the market. Local restaurants are coming out as is a local juice company. There will be a live DJ and G.R.O.W. will be sharing the history of the area’s strong business mindset throughout the event. Sykes said they will also be giving away approximately $300 worth of merchandise from the participating vendors during the event.
“We have a wide variety of items and businesses being featured at the event, which is exactly what we wanted,” Sykes said. “Our goal is to help whatever local businesses are here have a platform to show their products off to the community. And when you look around Saturday I think you’ll start to realize there are some pretty great products being made right here in Plant City that you use every day. Why order them online or go to these big stores when you can get things locally sourced and circulate your dollars in the community?”
Though the first event already appears to prove G.R.O.W. PC has some big things ahead, Sykes said the group plans to use this as the first chapter in what they hope will be a long and successful impact on the community. There are many events currently being discussed by the group that will focus on everything from vendor opportunities to forums on topics that impact the community and even possibly offering help for schools.
The group is always open to having those interested join them. You can currently follow G.R.O.W. Plant City on social media or you can email growplantcity@gmail.com to learn more.