FRISCO, Texas — Just two weeks ago, LaToya Reeder bought her first food truck, and on Sunday, she attended the Black on the Block Festival, where she sold out of her Cajun fare within hours. Reeder, of Toya Eats, along with over 100 other Black-owned small businesses, set up shop at Sports Academy at the Star for the sold-out event in Frisco.
“Black on the Block was introduced to me by my daughter,” said Reeder, who lives in Denison, roughly 60 miles north of Frisco. “I was actually in Jamaica and she called and said, ‘there’s this big event’ and I said, ‘okay’ and she said ‘the traffic is high, you sure you want to do it?’ And I told her ‘yes’.”
(Spectrum News/Shakari Briggs)
One of several food trucks on the scene, Toya Eats sold items such as seafood gumbo, Cajun rice, red beans and rice, shrimp pasta and even had some southern sweet tea for patrons to sip on while they got a taste of her New Orleans roots. Although she didn’t expect to sell out, she thanked those who stood in long lines just to get their hands on her homemade dishes.
“It’s very, very shocking — very, very overwhelming for me,” she said of her selling out of food. “I’m a person with anxiety, so I’m like I couldn’t believe it happened. But, I’ve always had a passion to make a person smile when I cook for them.” Just hours before the festival, Black on the Block announced tickets could no longer be purchased, prompting attendee hopefuls to flock to social media to ask for more.
The Los Angeles-based event aims to shine a light on Black-owned businesses. When co-founders and CEOs Char and Lanie Edwards created Black on the Block, the mission centered on “uplifting entrepreneurs who are dedicated to growing their own brands,” through a “curated, immersive experience featuring great food, music, activations, special guests and unique networking opportunities.”
“We don’t only get one month,” said Lanie Edwards, referring to Black History Month. “That’s what we bring to LA and now to Dallas, because we get every month, we get every day. Black-owned businesses should be supported every single day.”
Lanie and Char birthed the idea of the once-a-month festival during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lot of people were looking to support Black-owned businesses and didn’t know where to find them,” said Lanie Edwards. “So, we found a niche in that and this has been the best experience for people to find Black-owned businesses and keep supporting them every single day.”
According to Lanie and Char, the event in Dallas marked their first sold-out show.
“It’s honestly really unreal,” Lanie Edwards said. “Like, I just couldn’t even believe it. When we saw the ticket sales going up and up and up and then it said ‘sold out,’ I was like ‘we never sold out an event before’.”
Vendors came from near and far, providing attendees everything from clothing apparel to jewelry, fragrances, candles, pole dancing classes, and handicrafts. The event included something for those with a green thumb to those looking to add paintings and portraits to their art collections. For Alex Daniels, Black on the Block presented an opportunity to place statement piece jewelry in the hands of women looking to stand out in any crowd.
“You won’t find my earrings walking around on somebody else,” Daniels said. “Everything is unique. Everything is different and I make what I like and I just hope that other people like it too.”
(Spectrum News/Shakari Briggs)
Designed out of necessity, Daniels started And Made by Hand since she has keloids on her ears and couldn’t find anything to her liking. She decided to make something she did like. Her one-of-a-kind pieces have adorned the ears of celebrities and influencers across the globe.
“When I started doing it, that wasn’t the goal,” she said. “It wasn’t the goal to reach celebrities, the goal was really to reach the woman standing next to me. So, the fact that it’s now on celebrities and you can see it on Tabitha Brown, Sarah Jakes-Roberts and SWV and LaToya Luckett and in all of these amazing places like Vogue that’s amazing. It’s crazy. It’s nothing that I ever imagined and I’m so grateful to be able to share it and inspire women to take up space, make a statement… that’s the goal.”
Across the venue, Christopher Blackmon sold products from The Groom God’s hair care line, including a tea tree oil and peppermint-infused shampoo and conditioner, beard oil, hair crème, hair growth drops and a pomade that even works for women as edge control.
(Spectrum News/Shakari Briggs)
“Well, as a licensed barber in the city of Dallas for the past 12 years, I decided to go and create a product for my clients because they were always asking me ‘yo, Chris what can I put on my hair for A, B and C,’ whether it be for dry and itchy scalp or whatever,” Blackmon said. “So, I created The Groom God’s as a means to supply a demand for the hair care product of our culture that we need.”
In between shopping and eating, Richie Fontane kept the crowd moving and grooving, especially on the dance floor. The comedian hosted the event, bringing laughs to the mix and even an impromptu foot race with Dr. Rose, a lead aesthetician at Rose Aesthetics in Dallas.
“It’s tied to Black people, which is my thing,” said Fontaine when asked why he agreed to host. “It’s my spirit. We are. I am. Being around a whole bunch of us just makes me feel good. It’s a good time. It’s a good energy. The entire event is based on something that I believe in and that I’m right with. So, it just aligns with who I am in total.”
Celebrating her birthday, Ronnie Newton along with her friend, Amara Shanks, thought the Black on the Block event would be the ideal place to share in her special day.
“We wanted to be surrounded by people who look like us, all of our friends, and just kind of be in a place we felt welcomed,” Newton said. “I really like that we were supporting all businesses. I really like supporting Black businesses and all of the things we get to buy and helping them further their careers and put them on the map.”
Both Newton and Shanks walked away with various shopping bags from vendors at the event.
“I’ve always wanted to go to an event like this and I went to something like this at school,” she said. “But it’s nice to see different vendors and people, so it was really nice to come out tonight.”
Although Lanie and Char didn’t put a timeline on when they’d return to the Lone Star state, after the success of their first event, they both agree it’s no question the Black on the Block Festival will come back.
“Dallas really showed up,” Lanie Edwards said. “They welcomed us with open arms. We could not believe the amount of love we’ve received. So, we’re very happy to bring this to our first city out-of-state this year.”
