Northwest Arkansas Community Showcase

One of the Chamber’s key focus areas for our mission-work is Small Business & Entrepreneurial Development.

We have a passion for curating and providing business owners with essential resources for starting, running and growing business. We also like to open doors to new connections for our diverse group of small businesspeople through entrepreneurial events and programming.

The NWA Community Showcase Presented by Pepsi Co. will provide a venue to highlight NWA businesses, make new business connections, and reach out to potential customers. This program offers booths in a tradeshow environment with opportunities for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer interaction. It will help our entrepreneurs and business owners gain exposure and valuable brand recognition for their companies and organization while marketing their business to the public and building professional relationships with other exhibitors. The Showcase will host an IdeaFame Elevator Pitch Competition, Battle of the Chefs, cultural presentations, Kids Zone, food trucks, and more.

If you would like more information or to become a sponsor of the event, contact Geovanny Sarmiento at [email protected] or Jivette De Jesus at [email protected]. 

Increasing Awareness of Businesses & Entrepreneurs
The Showcase creates an entrepreneurial platform for businesses to connect with other businesses and consumers in the community by showcasing their products and services. This new venue highlights the importance of all sorts of businesses and entrepreneurs in the region.

Whether you are a consumer discovering new places to shop, a local vendor prospecting for new business acquisition or a nonprofit organization exploring new partnerships, you will benefit from the new relationships you make at the NWA Community Showcase. It is also a great way for you to meet business owners and show your support by shopping local - #ShopNWA - with them.

Exhibit Booths
Purchase your exhibit booth space to showcase your business to hundreds of attendees including a diverse group of businesses exhibiting in the trade show. This is a good opportunity for vendors who want to generate leads for new business.

There are two booth options to choose from:

Showcase Booth (inside) $100.00: These include a 10x10 booth inside the Frisco Station Mall.

Experience Pavilion Booth (outside) $150.00: These include a booth outside in the middle of the action, featuring additional room surrounded by food trucks and activities.

Battle of the Chefs
Who is the best chef in Northwest Arkansas? The NWA Community Showcase will feature food prepared by local chefs and will give attendees an opportunity to vote for their favorite dish while sampling some of the best cuisine the area has to offer. There will be a judge's choice competition and a people's choice competition. For the people's choice competition, attendees are invited to sample each dish and vote on their favorite during the event!

Participating Chefs:

• Chef Hilman Abdurahman, Takashimura Hibachi
• Chef Rafael Ríos, Yeyo’s
• Chef Gladys Aguilar, Salvymex

Cultural Performances
In recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the NWA Community Showcase will feature several artistic performances throughout the event that highlight the diverse culture our area has to offer.

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15 by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

ATTEND | Admission is Free
Attendance is free and open to the public. No registration or tickets required.  Just check in when you arrive.

More About the "IdeaFame" Elevator Pitch Competition
The IdeaFame Live Contest, brought to you by Startup Junkie, is an event created to promote startups and new ideas, and to increase "creative collisions" in emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems. Come pitch your new business, product, service, or solution for a chance to win.

Attendees: Open to anyone – bring your co-founders, friends, family, fiancé – anyone! (Attendees vote for the $1,000 People’s Choice Prize).

Contestants: Open to entrepreneurs, innovators, and dreamers who want to share their idea for a chance to win $1,000! You have 60 seconds to pitch your idea, no more. No slides. No notes. Only one contestant can speak per pitch.

PRIZES!
There will be two winners. The audience will select the People’s Choice. The Judges will select the Judges’ Choice. Each winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize on the spot... And a giant check. Yes, that’s right. We’re giving away a total of $2,000 with no strings attached

Schedule of Events:

10:10 - Danza Azteca performance
10:35 - Ocean Wave Dance Group performance
11:35 - Battle of the Chefs Introduction/Cooking
12:35 - Judge's Choice Chef Competition Voting - winner is announced!
1:05 - Little Yei performance 
1:30 - Salvadorenos Unidos Dance Group performance
2:00 - Enigmático Norteño Music performance
3:00 - Startup Junkie IdeaFame Elevator Pitch Contest begins

Presenting Sponsor and Experience Pavilion Sponsor

Partner

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsors

Supporting Sponsor

Venue Sponsor

Media Sponsors

Signage Sponsor