Craft Lake City is proud to spotlight the future of local creatives through its Youth Entrepreneur Program Powered By VentureLab (YEP). The program’s culminating project, exhibiting at Kid Row, the one-day youth popup market during the 17th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival Presented By Harmons, will take place on Saturday, August 9 from 12-4 p.m. at the Utah State Fairpark.
Thanks to the generous support from partners including VentureLab, Utah Afterschool Network, the Salt Lake City Public Library, the Urban Food Connections of Utah, Backman Elementary and Promise South Salt Lake, this free program offers Utah youth (ages 18 and under) arts and business workshops to cultivate their new or growing businesses and entrepreneurial mindsets. Participants learn practical skills like pricing, marketing and customer service and more from local mentors and artisans—and receive a materials stipend to invest in their business and the chance to exhibit at DIY Fest on scholarship.
In addition to waived exhibitor fees at the DIY Fest, participants get to practice running their businesses at the Downtown Farmers Market before their showcase and culminating project at Kid Row during the DIY Fest. Everything the participants have learned throughout the last few months will be on full display, along with their unique handmade goods and accessories.
“We’re proud to support this program year after year,” says Ben Trentelman, Executive Director of Utah Afterschool Network. “When young people are given the tools and space to develop their ideas, they gain more than just entrepreneurial skills—they gain a deeper confidence in themselves and their place in the community.”
Dedicated to providing enriching afterschool programs, the Utah Afterschool Network has helped make the Youth Entrepreneur Program accessible to as many young entrepreneurs as possible since its inception in 2022.
“The Youth Entrepreneur Program is our way of empowering the next generation of makers,” says Craft Lake City’s Executive Director, Angela H. Brown. “It’s our goal that through this program, Utah youth will realize their ideas, creativity and hard work have tangible value that positively impacts others.”
Check out Kid Row at the 17th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival Presented By Harmons and see the results of the Youth Entrepreneur Program’s mentorship. The Kid Row pop-up event is Saturday, August 9, 2025 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Utah State Fairpark.
About VentureLab:
VentureLab envisions a world where every child, regardless of gender, race, or economic status, is empowered to fully participate in creating the future through entrepreneurial and STEM education. In its mission to create the next generation of diverse innovators and changemakers by making entrepreneurial education accessible to all youth, VentureLab has reached over 747,000 students, educators, and caregivers in 155+ countries and all 50 United States. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, support for VentureLab helps provide scholarships to students, schools, and organizations who want entrepreneurship and innovation education. It will provide training and coaching for teachers, business models/budgeting tools, and mentoring and materials for students without access.
About Utah Afterschool Network:
Utah Afterschool Network is a statewide agency that ensures Utah’s children have access to high-quality afterschool programs that keep them engaged, learning, and safe. UAN assists after school teams in building quality programs by mentoring program staff, facilitating professional learning opportunities, and collaboratively creating a model of best practices for programs statewide. UAN also supports national and statewide advocacy initiatives that promote after school programs.
About Kid Row:
Beginning in 2017, the Kid Row pop-up has been an integral part in educating and providing accessibility to young entrepreneurs and artisans. Kid Row is the final step in graduating the Youth Entrepreneur Program. The program enriches and promotes the endeavors of young crafters and teaches them the basics of running a business.
Kid Row will feature over 70 kid vendors on Saturday August 9 from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m… Supporters of Kid Row include Utah Afterschool Network, Venture Lab, the Salt Lake City Public Library, Backman Elementary, Urban Food Connections of Utah and Promise South Salt Lake.
About Craft Lake City:
Founded in 2009 by Angela H. Brown, Executive Editor of SLUG (Salt Lake UnderGround) Magazine, Craft Lake City® is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with the mission to educate, promote and inspire local artisans while elevating the creative culture of the Utah arts community through science, technology and art. Craft Lake City strives to further define the term “Craft,” by modernizing the definition to include all handmade works of art.
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Craft Lake City’s year-round programming is supported in part by the residents of Salt Lake County through the Zoo, Arts & Parks (ZAP) Program, Utah Arts & Museums, the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Salt Lake Arts Council and SLUG Magazine. The 17th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival Presented By Harmons is Utah’s largest local-centric art, music, science and technology festival. The DIY Fest features over 500 local artisans, vintage vendors, foodies, youth entrepreneurs, performers and STEM exhibitors over three days the second weekend of August.
The 17th Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival Presented by Harmons features the GFiber STEM Building, the 90.9FM KRCL Stage, the GOFHA stage Presented By KUAA, the SLC Stars Kids Area, Bike Valet Presented by Cyrusher and the Dog Oasis Presented By PupTub Club. Additional support is provided in part by the Willard L. Eccles Foundation, Stephen G. and Susan E. Denkers Family Foundation, Lawrence T. & Janet T. Dee Foundation, McCarthey Family Foundation, Utah Afterschool Network, Falbaum-Caillet Family Foundation, PBS Utah, 90.1 KUER, Salt Lake City Mayor’s Office ACE Grant, Creative West, Marathon Petroleum, Project Rainbow, STEM Action Center, Hypha, 24tix.com, Big Cartel, Central Milling, Compass Billboards, Utah State Fairpark, Water and Wellness, XMission, Tombow, VentureLab, Urban Food Connections of Utah, Commerce and Craft, Lucero Hair and Wellness, Sewciety, Utah’s Own, University of Utah Health, City Weekly and Utah Stories.
