Say you’re organizing an event – complete with food, music and more – and you really want everyone to come out and enjoy themselves. One sure-fire way to make sure the whole community feels invited and welcomed is to get key leaders involved and interested.
Two people who fit that description in the Henderson area are Heather Joi Kenney and Tracy Mosley. They, along with other community partners, are introducing a street festival called Way to GROW! to focus on all aspects of entrepreneurship.
Kenney is president of Gateway CDC and Mosley is director of Helping All People Excel, a local nonprofit whose focus is access, exposure and opportunity for all youth.
They were guests on Thursday’s TownTalk to provide details about the Aug. 12 festival.
Actually, the week leading up to the Aug. 12 event is Entrepreneur Week at Gateway CDC, which is hosting a variety of workshops Monday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. to share information about becoming a successful, sustainable entrepreneur.
Because of her love for this community, “the beauty of its people and of the downtown area,” Kenney said she applied for – and ultimately received – a grant from NC IDEA, a statewide nonprofit whose mission is to support entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship across the state. The Way to GROW! festival “provides an opportunity for people to be entertained and to shop” among dozens of vendors who are themselves entrepreneurs.
A plus for the vendors is that there’s no fee to participate, she said.
Once she had the grant funding, “Tracy came to mind immediately,” Kenney said, adding that if anyone could make it successful, it was Mosley. “She can make it happen!”
“I’m an event planner – I love events,” Mosley said. “It’s a passion of mine and I love Henderson and the community.”
The plan is to block off Garnett Street between Orange and W. Montgomery streets for the festival. The Breckenridge Street area to Chestnut Street, as well as Wyche Street, also will accommodate pedestrian-only traffic that day.
The idea is to show prospective entrepreneurs that it’s possible to take a passion and turn it into a successful and sustainable business.
It’s one way to create and support the idea of community, Kenney said. “We are responsible for one another…Henderson’s way to grow is collectively.”
Join the fun on Saturday, Aug. 12 at 11 a.m. for food, music, vendors, and more at the Way to GROW! festival in downtown Henderson. The Queens Court of Charlotte, Jim Quick & Coastline, DJ AK and DJ Scoop, along with Chanel Scott of CheMinistry are just some of the groups providing entertainment.
To sign up to volunteer or to become a sponsor, contact Gateway CDC at 252.492.6298.
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