Young Entrepreneurs Bring Lemonade, and Style, to Fair
Kids Booth entrepreneur Hazel Kavaganis with her hand-crafted nails. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)
By Soren Wuerth
TNews Editor
Tucked in a tent guarded by three enormous cottonwood trees, 11-year-old Hazel Kavaganis tallied her day's fortunes.
"I sold half my stock, a bunch of people signed up on my website, that I'm still working on, and, what else?" she said, clicking long, colorful fingernails.
One a table beside her lay sets of 10 hand-painted Gel X Nails. Months before the Forest Fair, Hazel began to craft a product line for a booth she calls "Talk to the Hand".
She ended up making 33 kits, some painted like bumblebees, others green and black aliens, others jade, others crimson, some pink.
The nails are hot sellers. Names and email addresses crowd a clipboard resting nearby.
Face paint required at the Girdwood Forest Fair. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)
"This is her deal," said her father, Bill, a masseuse at the Alyeska Nordic Spa, who sat nearby. "But she gets her entrepreneurial skills from her mom."
And each year, there's been something different for the young entrepreneur. Last year, it was embroidery and magnets.
"Everybody thought it was cross-stitching. But it was embroidery," said Hazel, who wants to go to college for cosmetology and hopes to open a salon someday.
Hazel operates one of several "Kid & Teen" booths at the Fair, a vending reservation that gives younger people the opportunity to "take on the entrepreneurial skills to vend and create unique products," according to the Fair's website. Kids 12 and under receive free booth space while teens will have to pony up $150 for a space.
Ornamental crafts along a pathway to the Beer Garden. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)
There are 32 kids booths. Last year's event had "an overwhelming number of applicants", the website reported. Only hand-crafted items are allowed to be sold.
"We are so grateful to the Forest Fair for making space available for kids," Bill said, looking on.
The ever-popular DJ's Cookies booth, in its 30th year, marks the entrance to the Forest Fair. Cookies are still $2. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)
