Importance of community: F.A.M. Jam!'s Worcester Renaissance Fair highlights diversity of vendors and performers

WORCESTER — A handful of vendors and Worcester community advocates took part in the first of a planned series of events to develop and highlight diversity of vendors and performers in Worcester Saturday afternoon.

The F.A.M. Jam! Event Group's the Worcester Renaissance Fair held its first event inside Elm Park Elementary School on Ashland Street.

Vendors who offered products such as baked goods or hair braids coalesced around the ground floor of the building while musicians such as city youth poet laureate Serenity Jackson, who is also a rapper under the name Lil Rennie, and Worcester rapper Unnoticed Potential played in a cafeteria in the floor above.

Noamesco International Bar & Lounge also had plenty of food available for sale.

Vendors could also take part in a workshop covering the city's street vendor and performer application process for the City of Worcester.

The fair is the brainchild of Geoff Killebrew, president of F.A.M. JAM! Event Group. Killebrew has talked about how he believes that economic development that has reshaped the city the past couple of years has not carried over to many residents who are Black, Latino, Indigenous or other people of color.

"Our vision is to make history by uniting marginalized communities to develop a culture of creative collaboration and self-sustainability," Killebrew said. "The Worcester Renaissance project is something I developed with the help of hundreds of people over time."

He said he wants to work with the city to help place minority vendors and performers in high-foot traffic areas of the city to add energy to the streets and help the vendors with their business. Killebrew has looked to the Italian Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries and the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s for inspiration.

Harlem Renaissance's role in shifting the popular understanding of Black culture and Black people in general in a time when discrimination was still the law in much of the country was a reference point for Killebrew, who said marginalized communities are still working through lasting stigma.

Killebrew has also been vocal at city meetings about pushing his vision for a more vibrant city and to address barriers that he said exist for vendors to get off the ground. Last year, he pushed for a longer vending season and for the city and Worcester Public Schools to allow for youths to set up vendors with appropriate supervision.

One of the goals of Killebrew's project is to create easier access to city rules and fees for vendors and performers and to make the application process more transparent. He said matters such as general awareness of street vendor opportunities can be a barrier while the application can be dense and written in an inaccessible way.

"There's a lot of jargon. You almost have to have an attorney sitting with you to digest and understand all of it," Killebrew said.

Rules about the number of vendors allowed at a park and special events also create challenges, Killebrew said.

One of the vendors at the event Saturday is a teenager getting an early start on her baking career. Melody Rodriguez Capellan, 16, of Worcester, offered sweets such as brownie bites and cupcakes from her fledgling business, Mel's Bakery.

Rodriguez Capellan's business started from her love of baking and the suggestion from family that she should bake for others. She began culinary school at 15 and is currently in a program at Grafton Job Corps Center.

Saturday was her first event as a business and it highlighted the importance of community.

"I feel like it's really important to be part of the community because we all support each other. I've seen a lot of support, a lot of love being shown today," Rodriguez Capellan said.

Describing being a vendor as a "rollercoaster," Rodriguez Capellan acknowledged that researching regulations for vending in the city can be challenging, but worth it.

Rodriguez Capellan's eventual goals are to open her own bakery in Worcester and one day expand so her treats are available worldwide.

Carl Gomes, president of the Indian Lake Community Association Inc., was present Saturday to inform the public about his organization's plans to redesign and expand the neighborhood's Community Teaching Garden's literacy project. He brought a rendering of the project that he hopes will be available to residents of all ages and levels of mobility.

Gomes said he supports Killebrew's vision for adding more vibrancy.

"The city's talked about really wanting to become a very vibrant city. I don't really feel the vibrancy in the city at this point," Gomes said. "Geoff's vision would be transformational in Worcester."

In addition, Gomes said Killebrew has done necessary work pushing the city to become more transparent and accessible to aspiring vendors.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: F.A.M. Jam!'s Worcester Renaissance Fair highlights diversity