Wichita Children’s Business Fair: Shop From Wichita’s Youngest Entrepreneurs
I absolutely love the idea behind the Wichita Children’s Business Fair! More than 250 young entrepreneurs will set up 100+ businesses at Bradley Fair, selling products and services they dreamed up, created, priced, and marketed themselves. And here’s the best part for those of us coming to support them: it’s completely FREE to attend and shop!
This isn’t just kids playing store, either. These young entrepreneurs, ages 6–12, have gone through the process of creating a real business—from coming up with an idea and developing their brand to setting prices and designing their booth. Then they get three hours of real customers, real sales, and real-world experience.
Shop 100+ Kid-Owned Businesses
This sounds like such a fun event to bring the family to, especially if you have a little entrepreneur at home!
You’ll be able to walk around Bradley Fair and shop from more than 100 kid-created businesses. The kids get to make their sales pitches and keep the money they earn, while shoppers get to see just how creative Wichita kids can be. According to the organizers, many young entrepreneurs even sell out.
And since admission is FREE, you can simply stop by, walk around, and support a few young local business owners. Pets are welcome, too.
There’s a Little Friendly Competition, Too
Local business owners will visit each booth and talk with the kids about their ideas, pricing, and what they learned while building their businesses. Nine young entrepreneurs will each win a $100 prize.
Awards are divided among three age groups—6–7, 8–10, and 11–12—and recognize the Most Original Business Idea, Highest Business Potential, and Best Presentation/Creativity. All booth fees are put back into the prize money.
Want Your Child to Start a Business?
This isn’t only an event to attend—you can have a young entrepreneur participate! Kids ages 6–12 can apply individually or as a team to run their own booth. Organizers provide free guides to help families work through the process of developing the idea, naming and pricing the business, designing the booth, and getting ready for customers. Applications for the 2026 fair are currently open.
Who Is Behind the Wichita Children’s Business Fair?
The event is hosted by Wonder School, a Wichita school serving students from Montessori pre-K through high school. Wonder describes its approach as hands-on learning built around projects, real-world experiences, apprenticeships, and giving students responsibility for their own learning. The school says the Business Fair is essentially a one-day example of the type of learning its students do throughout the year.
Wichita Children’s Business Fair 2026
Date: Saturday, October 3, 2026
Time: 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Location: Bradley Fair, Rock Road at 21st Street, Wichita
Cost: FREE to attend and shop
Who Can Participate: Young entrepreneurs ages 6–12, individually or in teams.
I think this is such a neat way to spend a Saturday morning—support Wichita kids, shop some truly local small businesses, and maybe even inspire your own kids to come up with a business idea for next year!
