Small business advocacy and network group Local First Arizona plans to shine the spotlight on Phoenix’s small business owners with the ninth annual Certified Local Fall Festival this Saturday, Nov. 9 at downtown’s Portland Parkway.
Whether they’re knitting coarse fiber into scarves, serving up experimental fusion dishes out of food trucks or curating fashionable ensembles for their boutique, the life of a small business owner in Phoenix consists of long hours and sometimes little financial return for the owners.
Yet, small businesses have potential to enact change in their communities. For every $100 spent at local businesses in Arizona, $42 stays in the local economy, according to the Local First website. When shopping at a non-locally owned establishment, only $13 will stay in the economy.
Local First has advocated buying local and working to create a support network for Arizona small businesses since 2003, when it was known as Arizona Chain Reaction.
The festival was the brainchild of Local First Executive Director Kimber Lanning, said Erica Pederson, Local First’s communication coordinator.
“We wanted to create an event that brought the local community together with the business community,” she said said.
The event aims to teach people about the power of small businesses by bringing them face-to-face with more than a hundred businesses from across the state, Pederson said.
Pederson has only been with Local First for two years, but in that time she said she has seen the festival “grow dramatically.”
The event was originally held at the Duck & Decanter restaurant on 16th Street and Camelback Road. However, last year it outgrew the restaurant and was moved to Portland Parkway near Margaret T. Hance Park.
Portland Parkway doesn’t just give Local First the space to feature more businesses. The location’s adjacency to the light rail line allows more people to stop by the festival.
Artisans and boutiques can sell their wares or host activities at their booths, while local restaurants and other eateries may have spots in the beer and wine garden or the food truck food court.
Brad Moore, co-owner of food truck Short Leash Hot Dogs and its brick-and-mortar counterpart Sit…Stay, will participate in the festival for the second year.
“Local First is such a great organization and we’ve been benefited so much from being a part of it, so we try to be involved as possible,” Moore said.
Moore said he enjoyed the park space in the venue last year and said it provided a great festival environment.
“It’s an opportunity for people who are interested in supporting local businesses and are getting to know the options that are out there,” Moore said.
Scott’s Marketplace, a Scottsdale-based business that created an online marketplace for small businesses and their products, is both a sponsor and a featured business at the festival.
The marketplace currently has ten businesses on board, offering products such as jewelry and pet goods that festival-goers will be able to peruse, according to Scott’s Marketplace Marketing Director Jill Hoffman.
The website hopes to give people who want to shop local the opportunity to do so even if they can’t make it to the stores in person, Hoffman said.
“When we shop as consumers, we vote with our dollar,” she said. “When we shop local we’re reinvesting the cash back into our own neighborhoods.”
Other businesses with featured booths include the food truck and restaurant Pizza People, the Heard Museum and the boutique Frances Vintage.
Most companies are from the metro Phoenix area, though this year there will be six southern Arizona businesses and a few from northern Arizona participating, Pederson said.
The festival’s ninth annual celebration coincides with a period of expansion for Local First.
Last year the organization’s business membership grew by 900 members, a 70 percent increase, according to their annual report. Local First now has a paid staff member at their northern Arizona office, allowing them to fully operate statewide, Pederson said.
The Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce awarded Lanning with the ATHENA Award in October, naming her one of the most successful Valley businesswomen.
The GPCC and Local First share many common goals and often collaborate to support small businesses and the local economy, GPCC President and CEO Todd Sanders said.
“I think they’ve done a tremendous amount to focus on homegrown businesses,” he said. “It’s that kind of work and that kind of joint collaboration that’s been so impactful not just for my chamber, but for the community.”
Sanders said he hopes GPCC and Local First will continue to work together in the future, especially with economic development.
“Local First Arizona seems to be in such an upward trajectory in terms of people knowing about us and how to support local businesses,” Pederson said. “It’s allowed us to further expand our programs.”
One of those new programs is Localist, the organization’s upcoming loyalty program.
The loyalty program offers special rewards, discounts and giveaways for people who sign up to be Local First members. Perks include an exclusive concert at Lanning’s record store Stinkweeds or the opportunity to DJ for a night at the restaurant Windsor.
Local First will launch Localist at the festival and attendees will be able to sign up then.
The festival will also feature five live musical acts, an online silent auction and a raffle that will give away around 20 items an hour, Pederson said.
The Certified Local Fall Festival is Nov. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Contact the reporter at ascovill@asu.edu
