Over 70 vendors attend Small Business Fest at Eastern

Over 70 vendors attend Small Business Fest at Eastern Categories: News Over 70 vendors attend Small Business Fest at Eastern Kade Knuffman, Reporter • October 12, 2026 Nolan Hebert Ben Schwarberg (left) and Brian George (right) get a caricature drawn by Noah Grigoroff, where they are the wheels on a bicycle at Small Business Fest. Some other ideas that Grigoroff had of drawing people before this were them as a tandem bicycle, a horse costume where one is the head and one is the rear, and one of them riding the bike while the other was the bike. Ultimately, they landed on the bike wheels, as Schwarberg’s shirt was a reference for the drawing. Zak Rojahn From food trucks to portraits, EIU’s Small Business Festival hosted 73 vendors when it returned to campus Saturday, spanning from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entrepreneurship Club President Emily Larsen said the event is meant to give students with businesses an opportunity to be seen. “We want to give them a cheap, affordable opportunity to start their businesses or grow here in Charleston and for them to introduce their products to the community,” Larsen said. Senior digital media major Max Yoho, who ran the Doodle Booth, said operating the booth is fun because of the interactions they have with others. “They seem to have fun interacting with me and my booth,” they said. ”People get really excited about it. It’s a great space to support students and their creatives.” Gallery • 7 Photos Nolan Hebert On Saturday, the Eastern Illinois University Entrepreneurship Club held the biannual Small Business Fest in the Library Quad. Sophomore art major Zadie Sims had an art booth with iron-on bead art, keychains and more. “It makes me happy that I can sell things I enjoy doing,” said Sims. “Seeing people carrying around my keychains means a lot to me.” Junior philosophy major Tyler Worthey of Worthey Peppers has been a returning vendor, selling hot sauce and jelly galore for five semesters. “Sharing my passion with the students that I go to class with is one of my favorite things,” he said. ”The community of Charleston is what I love about Eastern, and Small Business Fest brings out the community of people who support each other. It’s the Panther pride that we have where everyone supports each other.” Worthey said the importance of Small Business Fest isn’t about the turnout, but rather how the vendors feel at the end of the day. “Even if we don’t get strong support from Coles County, or even people on campus, it’s the vendors that show up for each other. They say ‘We’re here. We’re all trying,'” he said. ”We’re all doing our best, especially with how difficult things are with society right now. Seeing everyone on such a close scale and being like ‘Hey, I make this. Check this out. I love this. I have a passion for this. Let me share it with you.’ Being able to just see everyone’s passion for their own projects brings so much light in the community.” Small Business Fest will return to campus in the spring semester. Kade Knuffman can be reached at [email protected]. View Story Comments 0 Like This Story Share on Facebook Share on X Email this Story Print this Story Leave a Comment Tags: Campus Event Small Business Fest More to Discover More in News Former Mattoon Police captain appointed interim chief of university police department Eastern’s fall enrollment decline sees similiarities, differences from statewide trends Student Senate asks university to regulate use of AI by faculty Career Services at Eastern celebrates new space with ribbon cutting Limited access to accessible entrances in Coleman Hall raises concerns  Charleston Fire Department Celebrates Fire Prevention Week at Linder Sports Complex About the Contributors Kade Knuffman, Reporter Kade Knuffman is a fresman journalism major and can be reached at [email protected]. Zak Rojahn, Video Editor Zak Rojahn is a sophomore TV and video production major and can be reached at [email protected].