Youth Entrepreneur Program Powered By VentureLab Prospectus

Program Description:

Craft Lake City’s Youth Entrepreneur Program Powered by VentureLab invites young creators and entrepreneurs to take part in a hands-on pathway into small business ownership. In partnership with the Utah Afterschool Network (UAN) and VentureLab, the program offers free after-school workshops in arts and entrepreneurship on Tuesdays 4:30-6 p.m. at the Salt Lake City Public Library, culminating in the opportunity for participants to operate their own booth at Kid Row, the youth pop-up market within the DIY Festival. Through guided learning, mentorship and real-world selling experience, youth participants bring their ideas to life and put their skills to the test in a live marketplace environment.

Participants will….

• Start or develop their own small businesses and work with professional artists who will demonstrate their craft, share their career journeys, and serve as creative role models. 
• Participate in unique crafting sessions and learn from local creators
• Gain valuable entrepreneurial and small business experience in a market-setting, including pitching customers, managing inventory
• Develop creative entrepreneurial skills through: 
• Creating, developing and managing products and inventory
• Designing, coordinating and executing market displays
• Learning how to set and meet SMART goals 
• Developing entrepreneur mindsets
• Practicing customer interactions and business pitches

Participants Receive: 

• Waived exhibitor fees for mock market
• Waived exhibitor and application fees at Kid Row, the one-day youth popup market at the Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival 
• 5 in-person sessions, led by local artisans and creative business owners
• Mentorship with Craft Lake City’s Youth Entrepreneur Program Team
• Virtual Info session with Craft Lake City team to prepare for DIY Fest
• $250 materials stipend (must attend all 5 in-person sessions to be awarded) 
• Access to VentureLab’s cutting-edge entrepreneurship curriculum

Program Expectations: 

Participants who apply and are accepted into the Youth Entrepreneur Program Powered By VentureLab are expected to be present, on time and participate in ALL in-person and Virtual events. Participants are expected to work on asynchronous assignments independently and diligently in preparation for each session. Participants must be respectful to all visiting artists and Craft Lake City staff. Participants will be responsible for creating inventory for their business independently outside of class to prepare for a pop-up booth in Downtown Farmer’s Market and Kid Row at the 18th Annual DIY Festival. 

Important Dates & Deadlines for Craft Lake City’s Youth Entrepreneur Program Powered By Venturelab:

Exhibiting at the Downtown Farmers Market:

Participants also complete a mock market, where they practice selling their work, engaging with customers, and running their booth ahead of the DIY Festival. This experience helps youth build confidence, receive feedback, and feel prepared for a live market setting.

The program culminates with participants showcasing their work as Kid Row vendors at the 18th Annual DIY Festival presented by Harmons, held at the Utah State Fairpark on August 8, 2026 (10:00 AM–2:00 PM). Kid Row is a dedicated space for youth entrepreneurs (18 and younger) to sell, promote, and exhibit their creations at Utah’s largest local-centric art, science, and technology festival.

Exhibiting at Kid Row:

The program culminates with participants showcasing their work as Kid Row vendors at the 18th Annual DIY Festival Presented By Harmons at the Utah State Fairpark Aug. 8th, 2026 (10:00am-2:00pm). Kid Row is a unique space for youth entrepreneurs (18 and younger) to sell, promote, and exhibit their creations at Utah’s largest local-centric art, science and technology festival.

Materials Stipend:

Participants who complete all five sessions will unlock a $250 materials stipend, giving them the resources to craft unique, mostly handmade products for their small business. Youth will showcase and sell their work at Kid Row, gaining real-world experience as young entrepreneurs in a supportive, public marketplace.

Eligibility:

The Youth Entrepreneur Program Powered By VentureLab is open to youth between the ages of 12 and 18 who want to create or have created a handmade small business and reside in Utah. Youth must have a reliable form of transportation and be able to be outside for extended amounts of time (4+ hours). Youth may apply with up to one other youth business partner. Craft Lake City reserves the right to reject any applications which do not fall within or meet these guidelines.

Original Work Regulation:

Craft Lake City celebrates artisans and local makers in Utah’s diverse communities whose products are handmade. Therefore, preference will be given to youth entrepreneurs who submit original business proposals for handcrafted work. Commercial, mass produced or manufactured products that are not made by the youth artisan(s) are prohibited. Upon submission, the youth artisan guarantees the accuracy of the description of products they hope to create and the authenticity of the artwork as original and created by their own hands. 

All artwork exhibited at the Festival must be of the quality and style represented by the artist in the images submitted with the application.

Craft Lake City AI Use Policy for Artisans

​Craft Lake City celebrates human-made work. AI tools may be used only as creative aids—for example, to educate on creative techniques or design principles, inspire ideas, generate references or explore color palettes. Final works must be mostly handmade by the artisan, consistent with the Original Work Regulation in the Exhibitor Prospectus. Fully AI-generated works are not eligible to participate in Craft Lake City’s artisan lineup. If AI is used at any stage, applicants must clearly disclose the specific use (and the programs thereof) in their application and, if accepted, disclose their usage of AI with signage displayed clearly at their exhibitor space.

Craft Lake City welcomes responsible, transparent innovation that supports (not replaces) human creativity. This policy will be reviewed quarterly to reflect new technologies and uphold fairness, authenticity and artistic integrity. All work exhibited at Craft Lake City events must follow Craft Lake City’s Code of Conduct, follow the Original Work Regulation (above), respect data privacy and ensure human oversight at all times. Craft Lake City reserves the right to deny any exhibitor application if it does not meet the Craft Lake City exhibitor criteria.

Application: 

Sub-Categories/Mediums:

• Accessories – bags, belts, hats, keychains, etc.
• Apparel – wearable works and clothing
• Artwork – two-dimensional work created using painting, printmaking, photography, drawing, digital art, collage, illustration, or other techniques
• Baby & Child Products – toys, children’s clothing, etc.
• Bath, Body & Apothecary – skincare, soap, body oils, etc.
• Ceramics – pottery
• Embroidery and Fiber Arts – embroidered hoops, sewn and knit objects, macrame, etc.
• Home decor and Housewares – candles, plant holders, wall hangings, clocks, furniture, cooking tools, dinnerware, etc.
• Kid Row Food – hand crafted and artisanal varieties of pre-packed, edible goods such as desserts, beverages, sauces, candy, etc.
• Mission-driven – Local nonprofits, organizations and businesses interested in sharing information about their missions and programs with the creative community
• Jewelry – necklaces, rings and earrings
• Pet – Accessories designed for use by dogs, cats, or other household pets
• Reworked Vintage Goods –  second-hand items, typically clothing or accessories, that have been altered, redesigned, or refurbished to give them a modern or unique twist.
• Stationery – paper goods, cards, journals, pens, etc.
• Sculpture – sculptural artworks made from clay, found/upcycled materials, glass, wood, ceramic or metal
• Vintage – curated clothing, furniture and other items that predate 1990

Health Department Regulations & Required Permits for Craft Food Exhibitors (pre-packaged food/beverages):

*Please read this information carefully, as exhibitors WILL be shut down at the event if they do not adhere to these requirements!*

• ALL craft food must be prepared and packaged in a commercial or cottage kitchen that has been inspected and approved by the Utah Department of Agriculture. You are REQUIRED to bring a copy of your Department of Agriculture permit with you to the event & have it posted at your booth. You do not need any additional permits with the Salt Lake County Health Department to participate in the DIY Fest unless you intend to offer samples. For questions about kitchen certifications, please contact the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food at 801-982-2253.
• If you would like to offer samples at your booth at the DIY Fest, you MUST obtain a sampling permit from the Salt Lake County Health Department, or you will be shut down on-site. You must have a license from the Utah Department of Agriculture to get a sampling permit. All food samples distributed at the DIY Fest must be pre-packaged. The Salt Lake County Health Department prohibits the distribution of samples of food produced in a Cottage Kitchen. Cottage Kitchen foods must be prepackaged, labeled and sold solely for at-home consumption. For questions about sampling permitting, please contact healthfood@slco.org or 385-468-3845.
• At least one person in the booth MUST have a Food Handlers permit.
• The Health Department REQUIRES you to have a handwashing station for any food or sample preparation. This includes interacting with the food on-site in any way. Please make necessary adjustments to your setup to comply with health department guidelines.
• Prepackaged samples do not require a hand washing station in your booth.

Health Department Regulations & Required Permits for Commercial Food Exhibitors (selling made-to-order food/beverages)

*Please read this information carefully, as exhibitors WILL be shut down at the event if they do not adhere to these requirements!*

• Food truck/trailers are required to have a primary food truck permit in one of the Utah counties to be in compliance throughout the entire state now. For example, if your food truck/trailer has a Davis County Health Department permit & is in good standing there, you can vend in Salt Lake County without any additional permits. You will need to bring a hard copy of your primary food truck permit with you to the DIY Fest. NO EXCEPTIONS!
• If you are normally a food truck/trailer exhibitor who wants to operate outside of your food truck in a booth/tent, you will need to apply for a Temporary Food Booth Permit from the Salt Lake County Health Department (because your primary food truck permit is only applicable to the truck itself).
• For licensing questions, please contact the Salt Lake County Health Department – our contacts are Tyler Rutner (385-468-3845 – trutner@slco.org) and Cole Dalton (385-332-1499 – cbdalton@utah.gov).
• Cooking stations must be in compliance with the Salt Lake County Health Department’s guidelines.
• All food trucks need to be registered with the local fire department. NO EXCEPTIONS! For questions, you can reach them at their main office by calling 801-256-2390.
• Food Exhibitors assume all responsibility for safeguarding their products and securing general liability insurance for their doing business. The Utah State Fairpark REQUIRES a certificate of this policy listing Craft Lake City and The Utah State Fairpark as additionally insured for the event. This certificate should not cost Food Exhibitors an additional fee by their insurance company. Email festivalfood@craftlakecity.com with any questions.
• Each commercial food exhibitor must have a hand washing station on-site at the event. During their routine on-site audit, the Health Department will shut down anyone who does not have a handwashing station, so this must be planned in advance for all food booths & trucks at the DIY Fest.
• All grease & liquids must be removed & disposed of off-site from DIY Fest grounds by the exhibitor.
• If you would like to offer samples from your commercial food truck/booth, please call or email the Health Department (385-468-3845, healthfood@slco.org) for details on securing your event sampling permitting. Food prepared in a Commercial Kitchen that has been permitted by either the Department of Agriculture or the Salt Lake County Health Department can be sampled and may require a permit if it comes from a raw animal product.
• Commercial food exhibitors planning to sell sodas, bottled water or energy drinks at the DIY Fest must purchase these directly from the Craft Lake City’s Pepsi Representative. Our team will send you a Pepsi order sheet approx. 2 weeks before the event date. Special exceptions for handmade beverages may be made at the discretion of Craft Lake City staff.

Photographs in your Application:

Focus on capturing high-quality images of five single products that can provide insight to the jury of your craftsmanship and creativity. Note: By providing these images, applicants give Craft Lake City consent to use them in promotional materials if accepted.

For more information about taking better product photos at home, check out the videos on this page. Craft Lake City also hosts Application Assistance Day events to provide additional support to folks who have questions about photographing their work or navigating the application portal.

Schools or Groups Interested in Applying:

If you are interested in having your students apply to participate in Kid Row and would like to chat with a Craft Lake City representative about what that would look like please contact our Youth Entrepreneur Program Coordinator, at yep@craftlakecity.com.

Jury Process:

After applications close, they are juried anonymously by a panel of third-party local arts experts. All Kid Row artisan’s personal information will remain anonymous to the jury. Jurors will solely have access to the applicant’s short answers and uploaded five images, which include a description and market price of the product.

Kid Row Exhibitor Space Info:

Each Kid Row exhibitor will be assigned a ½ table space (3’x2.5’) on which to display their work, and will be provided with 2 chairs. Items may be placed on top of the table for display, but for safety reasons, cannot be displayed behind, in front or on the sides of the tables. Craft Lake City is not able to accommodate special placement requests for youth entrepreneurs. Electricity is not available to Kid Row exhibitors.

Craft Lake City allows up to two youth entrepreneurs to represent each accepted business in Kid Row. Due to space and safety restrictions, more than two youth entrepreneurs will not be allowed to represent a selected business on site. Only one application needs to be submitted per kid artisan business, but the name of the second kid artisan must be listed in the application as the business partner.

Guardian Responsibility:

A parent or legal guardian is required to serve as Craft Lake City’s primary point of contact on behalf of each applicant of the Youth Entrepreneur Program Powered By VentureLab. This includes assisting with the application process, submitting fee payments, reviewing and signing exhibitor agreements and communicating with Craft Lake City before, during and after Kid Row.

The parent or legal guardian is also responsible for transporting the youth participant to the Mock Market and remaining with the youth participant for the duration of setup, public hours and teardown of the market. It is essential to ensure they arrive on time and are prepared for their participation in all events.

A parent or legal guardian is required to be present with exhibiting Kid Row exhibitors at all times during Kid Row, including for load-in, set up and load-out. Each individual kid artisan must be accompanied by one legal guardian. One single legal guardian may be allowed for two siblings who are part of the same household and the same Kid Row business.

Sales & Tax Information:

Craft Lake City enacts their mission to uplift local creative businesses by providing a platform for local makers to sell their wares, gain exposure in the creative community and by not charging commission on sales. This allows exhibitors to receive 100% of the profits made by selling their handmade products at the Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival. Craft Lake City does not take any money from commission or sales of Kid Row products during the course of the Festival or Market. 

Sales taxes for items sold during the festival are required to be paid separately as the Festival/Market qualifies as a special one-time event. Parents and legal guardians, please note that the Utah State Tax Commission will send tax forms to you about a week after the festival/market from tax-donotreply@utah.gov. You must complete these forms on behalf of your Kid Row artisan and file sales taxes on the kid artisan’s sales in order to participate. Parents and guardians may choose to file these forms in their own name, or in the name of their Kid Row artisan. 

For questions (or to request a replacement Special Event Tax Form should it not arrive), please contact the USTC at 801-297-6303 or specialevent@utah.gov. Reporting accurate sales tax helps Craft Lake City track the impact our events have on the local economy.

Exhibitor Responsibilities & Safety:

By applying and by accepting Craft Lake City’s invitation, all exhibiting youth artisans agree to comply with Craft Lake City, the Craft Lake City DIY Festival and venue rules and regulations.

The exhibitor assumes all responsibility for safeguarding of their products and their displays at the Annual Craft Lake City DIY Festival. All exhibitors are encouraged to purchase event insurance prior to the DIY Fest. 

All participants must attend all five in-person sessions to receive the $250 materials stipend. Additionally, participation in all virtual sessions and associated pop-up markets is required to ensure a full and enriching experience in the program.

Craft Lake City has the right to close, cancel or modify the Craft Lake City DIY Festival or the Craft Lake City Youth Entrepreneur Program if any circumstances occur that would affect the safety of the event attendees or exhibitors.

By participating, the exhibitor understands that verbal and physical abuse of any kind is not welcome. Any individual who displays negative, crude, crass, belligerent or any other non-exemplary behavior that causes discomfort towards any person present at the Festival will be asked to leave. Craft Lake City reserves the right to determine what behaviors are deemed inappropriate and non-characteristic of Craft Lake City standards. We do not condone any racist, bigoted or unsafe behavior from any area of the Festival/Market or within our community.

Parents and guardians of selected Kid Row exhibitors agree that images and information submitted through the application (with the exception of last names and contact information) may be used by Craft Lake City in promotional materials. Parents or guardians of selected youth entrepreneurs understand that any photos or video taken of guardians and Kid Row exhibitors by Craft Lake City staff, volunteers, or contractors at the public festival are the property of Craft Lake City, and can be reproduced and used/edited by Craft Lake City for documentary, educational, promotional and other purposes.

The invited kid artisan and parent/guardian agrees to hold harmless Craft Lake City, the Craft Lake City Holiday Market and the Craft Lake City DIY Festival, sponsors, partner organizations, coordinators, volunteers or employees, for any damage, loss, or theft to artwork, displays or other personal property, or injury to their person or character, virtual or otherwise, regardless of cause, resulting from their participation in this event.