Juneteenth celebration brings together entrepreneurs

In celebration of Juneteenth, event coordinator Gwendalyn Fleetwood brought back an annual Newtown event featuring food, music, culture and community for its sixth year.

The block party took place on June 14 on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, where 26 local entrepreneurs lined the streets with booths offering soul food, handcrafted jewelry, sweet treats, educational resources and more.

Fleetwood said she first launched the event out of a desire to lift up community members, give neighbors an opportunity to connect and bring a bit of fun to the area.

"I started it because when COVID hit, a lot of people were laid off, and many weren't working," she said. "A lot of people were looking for jobs and things to sell to keep them going."

The timing fell near Juneteenth, and Fleetwood said she thought it would be the perfect theme.

The festival also supports Second Chance Last Opportunity, which has been part of the celebration since the beginning.

April Glasco, CEO and founder of Second Chance Last Opportunity, said she was delighted to see the variety of vendors joining this year's block party.

"I love that they bring their talent and specialties to the community," she said.

SCLO is a nonprofit that has been empowering underserved people in the community since 1995, offering educational materials and facilitating a food and personal hygiene product pantry.

Among the local businesspeople was repeat vendor Natasha Milhouse. She is going on 4 years of running Nhouse Taste of Soul catering, aiming to offer more soul food options to the Sarasota culinary scene.

With the motto "Changing Souls One Plate at a Time," the Sarasota-born owner said her vision is to bring a brick-and-mortar restaurant to her neighborhood.

"I don't ever want to add salt, add pepper, add other things to give me a good plate of food," owner Milhouse said. "One simple thing I've learned about people is that they love good food, and I noticed in the area where I grew up that we didn't really have any soul food restaurants that have been consistent."

At the Juneteenth event, she featured her homemade wings, one of the most popular of which is her barbecue Hennessy-based sauce, and loaded boiled peanuts.

She said she appreciated having the chance to network with fellow businesspeople in Newtown, adding, "We do it better when we do it together."

Photo by Dana Kampa

The festival also featured some young go-getters, including 15-year-old Randy Johnson, who started his treats-focused business Everything Dipped by King.

He specializes in candy-dipped sweets like pineapple and grapes, but he also offers savory snacks like the spicy bowl with hard-boiled eggs. Using online video tutorials as a guide, Johnson taught himself how to make his confectionery delights and started making treats two years ago.

"The spicy bowl has sausage, pickled eggs, banana peppers and other spices," he said.

Running the pop-up has taught him about cooking and financial management, and he said he looks forward to seeing his business grow.

The Juneteenth fest featured more than culinary booths. Nicole Hird of Love Thy Waistbeads sold stands she made and designs from entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

"We have a lot of different designs," she said. "I started out exclusively making my own, but when the business started taking off at marketplaces, I realized I needed more beads than I can make alone."

She said the jewelry is eye-catching and confidence-boosting, but it also serves a practical purpose of helping wearers monitor weight loss. While a scale can keep track of pounds lost, she said waistbeads can be a helpful guide when people who are training simultaneously lose fat but gain muscle.

Most waistbeads are designed to be worn round the clock, but she said she also offers removable strands.

Attendee Marc Dortch said he enjoyed the fellowship among community members that day.

"I loved the positive atmosphere everywhere," he added, encouraging people to come again next year.