BLACK ARTS AND CULTURE DISTRICT (KGTV) — This Black History Month, San Diego is highlighting community events including Daygo Eatz, an annual celebration that brings taste, sound and fun to the Black Arts and Cultural District on Imperial Avenue.
Since the pandemic, the event has grown from a small gathering to a major community staple featuring more than 80 vendors selling food, clothes and sweet treats.
"It means everything because we know that without the support of the community we wouldn't be here," said Jalisha Choatesde, owner of Eden and Co Designs.
The event was hosted by Black San Diego and started as a way to support Black-owned businesses during challenging times.
"We just wanted a way to keep our Black-owned businesses afloat, and so we just started Daygo Eatz," said Sherri Jones, co-founder of Black San Diego.
What began as a small COVID-era gathering has transformed into an annual community celebration.
"I think our first one we maybe had like 10 vendors and now just having over 80 vendors and we probably got over 1,000 people that will probably come today and hang out with us," Jones said.
The festival featured a wide variety of food options, from desserts to deep-fried specialties. Choatesde's Eden and Co Designs offered new flavors including Chantilly cake, Oreo mini cakes, vanilla bean, strawberry crunch and biscoff.
Other vendors served creative items like Philly cheesesteak egg rolls, veggie egg rolls, shrimp egg rolls, buffalo chicken egg rolls and jalapeño popper egg rolls.
For Foquan Swanson of Quanson's Catering, the event represented a meaningful homecoming. Swanson started cooking five years ago, motivated by family and friends.
"The people around me, my family friends is what motivated me to start cooking," Swanson said.
Now he's cooking for hundreds of people at an event in the neighborhood where he grew up.
"I grew up actually in this area, went to the same Boys and Girls Club, so opportunities like this is one in a lifetime, and I feel blessed," Swanson said.
For Swanson, this was his first big event, and he expects it to lead to more opportunities.
"This is my first big event and I'm pretty sure after this I'm gonna get a lot more client customers," Swanson said.
Small businesses from every corner of the county were put on full display, giving entrepreneurs a chance to make a bigger name for themselves while providing the community an opportunity to try new foods and support local commerce.
The event demonstrates how community support can help small businesses thrive and grow, particularly in historically under served areas.
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