Youth Arts Festival and Makers Market
The Youth Arts Festival and Makers Market received LATC funding for their second annual event, which took place on October 11, 2025. This free community event offered over 40 youth artists/entrepreneurs, ages 8-18, a platform to showcase and sell their products. Funds supported hands-on art stations, workshops on business and financial literacy, and a monthly booth at the Durango Farmers Market.
Participation in the Pre-Festival Workshops and the Youth Arts Festival and Makers Market provided meaningful opportunities for local youth to develop entrepreneurial skills and gain hands-on experience in both entrepreneurship and the arts. Through these activities, participating youth learned how to develop and refine a business idea, budget and finance their product(s), manage inventory, process transactions, and communicate effectively with the public. These real-world experiences equipped young people with transferable skills that prepare them to become the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators. The educational workshops and festival inspired youth attendees by demonstrating that creative pursuits can be both fulfilling and economically rewarding, which hopefully will motivate more youth to explore their own artistic interests and continue to expand participation in the pre-festival educational programming (the Youth Business Expo in 2026) and the Youth Arts Festival and Makers Market in upcoming years.
The free interactive art stations strengthened community engagement by offering accessible, hands-on opportunities for youth and families (people of all ages) to create and connect through art. These experiences made creativity fun, engaging, approachable, and accessible. Participating artists had an opportunity to showcase their talent and engage directly with attendees, sharing insights into their creative processes and offering guidance to those interested in developing artistic skills or exploring creative careers.
The Youth Arts Festival and Makers Market fostered collaboration and connection across the community. Local artists hosted art stations with the assistance of community volunteers. Local businesses helped contribute supplies to support the event, and nonprofit organizations participated in the event by sharing information about the programs and services they provide to youth and families. Know Your Dough, Michael Valdez from Hawk Tank, and Laurie Sigillito from Local News Network were educational presenters at the pre-festival business workshops. Local business mentors also participated in one-on-one chats with youth entrepreneurs, providing valuable feedback and encouragement. Together, these partnerships created a dynamic link between education, entrepreneurship, and the arts.
Through participation in the Pre-Festival workshops, Youth Arts Festival and Makers Market, and Durango Farmers Market, youth learned valuable entrepreneurial skills, including how to develop a business idea, finance the production of a product, develop inventory, manage financial transactions, and communicate with the public; valuable skills for becoming our community’s future entrepreneurs. Funding supported compensating talented community artists/teachers and the cost of supplies. The art station activities gave festival attendees an opportunity to explore their creativity and learn about a craft in an affordable way, making art accessible to the community and visitors. The festival collaborated with a variety of community organizations, including the Boys and Girls Club of Durango and the Southern Ute, Rainbow Youth Center, The Hive, Oak Tree Youth Resources, Community Connections, Inc., Teen Art Lounge, Durango Public Schools, ROAR Coalition, and others.
About
The Youth Arts Festival and Makers Market is a free, all-ages community event celebrating art and creativity! The festival features a variety of hands-on art stations, offering interactive activities like beadwork, button making, ceramics, cookie decorating, felting, weaving, a community mural project, musical improv, poetry, and theater. Local professional artists lead these stations, supported by volunteers, to guide participants in exploring their own creativity. In addition to the art stations, the festival will host a Makers Market showcasing goods created by young artists and entrepreneurs, ages 8-18, from Durango and surrounding areas. These participants will have the opportunity to create a product or service, build their own brand, and use their best communication skills to sell their products during the festival and at the Durango Farmers Market. The youth get extra support with two community pre-festival workshops covering the topics of business, financial literacy, the Makers Market, and entrepreneurial skills.