Blax Friday hosted its 3rd annual Black-Owned Business festival in Downtown Tucson on Saturday at Toole and 5th Avenue.
The festival brought together more than 70 small businesses throughout the day, offering everything from skin care to vegan food to live entertainment, all in an effort to support and uplift Black entrepreneurs.
Ndure Athletics was one of the vendors at the festival, selling athleisure wear.
"Ndure stands for never doubt yourself," said Jessica Bleke, a volunteer at the Ndure Athletics booth. "So that's the number one thing: to put yourself first, to be able to know that you can do it."
For Bleke, the message is deeply personal. Once weighing nearly 300 pounds and working a desk job, she said she struggled to find the motivation to get into fitness.
"Athleisure, you can wear it anywhere," Bleke said. "So it started off with comfort, but then being able to get into the gym and represent it made me want to go more to help lose that weight."
The festival wasn’t just about fitness and fashion—it was also a celebration of the diversity within Tucson’s Black-owned businesses.
"We have really cool fashion lines that are local to Tucson, sweet treats, skin care products, athletic wear—everything you can think of, which is what makes this event so special," said Ayün Akilah, a volunteer coordinator for the festival.
One of the driving forces behind the event, hosted by Blax Friday, is to economically empower Black-owned businesses.
"There’s this misconception that we’re not here, but obviously we’re here," said Shay Thomas, the festival’s event management coordinator, while pointing out the high turnout at the festival.
Ashley La Russa, founder of Blax Friday, said the first festival’s turnout was low, but last year, more than 1,000 people attended, and this year they anticipated about 1,500 throughout the day.
"Demographically in population, we’re just under 5%, and 1.5% are made up of Black-owned businesses. So with that demographic, we need full community support to see us recirculate the dollar and improve the local economy," La Russa said.
While the festival serves as a space to empower these businesses economically, it also fosters a sense of community.
"With all the Amazons in the world, it’s nice to know that hands have touched this product and made it," said Elizabeth Denneau, who shopped at the festival.
La Russa asks the community to download the Blax Friday app in order to search for Black-owned businesses nearby.
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Maria Staubs joined KGUN 9 as a multimedia journalist and producer in July of 2024. Her passion for writing and storytelling stems from anchoring her middle school’s news show and editing her high school’s yearbook. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication with a minor in film and media production, as well as a master's degree in mass communication. You can email Maria at maria.staubs@kgun9.com or reach out to her on X/Twitter or Instagram.
