DES MOINES, Iowa — On Sunday, several dozen vendors lined up around Evelyn K. Davis Park for the annual Sista Soul Fest.
“Sista Soul Fest is Iowa’s only and largest Black women-led, owned vendor event,” said Kari Bassett, the founder and board president of the Iowa Black History Research Collective and committee member for Sista Soul Fest. “So we’ve got pretty much all black women-owned businesses here this year. We’ve also expanded a little bit, so we’ve got some Latina-owned businesses as well.”
This is the fourth year of the Sista Soul Fest, with around 40 vendors, live music, and food trucks.
One business owner displaying their business is a 10-year-old from Waukee. She’s an artist and just started selling her paintings and drawings on canvases, keychains, mousepads, etc. She explained what inspired her to open her own business at such a young age.
“So when I was about nine or eight, I was like hey everybody seems to like my art. Everybody seems to be like hey you’re so good at art,” said Saily Bah, owner of Saily’s Swag. “So I was like okay why not share it with everybody else who hasn’t seen it? So really it’s just making sure that everybody feels like they can enjoy.”
Saily spent the whole summer working up inventory so the business would be ready for Sista Soul Fest. You can find Saily’s Swag on her Facebook page or her website.
Another business owner and children’s author just moved back to Des Moines. Erika Beaty wrote “Chocolates” two years ago with her husband doing the artwork. The book is about the idea that everyone is like a shade of chocolate, all beautiful in their own way.
“It’s great to see the support and be a part of it and see what we’re doing to love one another and share with each other what we have created,” said Beaty. “It’s good to see Black women doing some really amazing things and it’s good to see Black, white, brown, purple, everybody coming out and supporting us and saying thank you.”
Beaty also designs t-shirts and other unique items. You can check out her book and other items on her website or Facebook page.
The event went on from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
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