DemPalooza has kicked off and is a playground for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) delegates as well as a welcoming place for Chicagoans.

The event, taking place at McCormick Place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during all days of the DNC, features various panels, activations, live shows and local vendors.

“It’s an option for us to showcase Chicago’s diversity, more specifically, our arts and cultures and business diversity,” Alex Sims-Jones, CEO of consulting company APS & Associates, said. She added that the event features over 73 local businesses and more than 30 are Black-owned.

The DNC Host Committee tapped the consulting company to create an event to not only highlight local businesses but also act as a place where residents could come to enjoy festivities without a price tag.

“What’s cool about it for these businesses is it’s brand awareness to people who aren’t from Chicago, and then for people who are from Chicago, they get to see businesses outside their neighborhoods,” Sims-Jones said.

Kenya Renee Reaves, the owner of the Bronzeville-based business incubator Absolutely Anything Essential, learned of the opportunity to be a vendor at DemPalooza as a featured business in the DNC’s vendor directory. Based in Bronzeville, the incubator also serves as an event space and welcomed delegates and other visitors to their space before the kickoff of the convention starting on Sunday.

“All week we’ve been having people. [Monday], we had a delegate from Pennsylvania stop by,” Reaves said. The incubator hosts small businesses that sell products that range from jewelry to coloring books and custom clothing.

Keiana Barrett, senior adviser of the Democratic National Convention Host Committee, said the event was created with intention, as the committee was focused on creating “the most inclusive conventions to date.”

“We certainly wanted to make sure that increasing the economic mobility for small local businesses was at the forefront of that, and we hope that the vendor expo is yet another conduit and vertical in our commitment to uplifting all that Chicago represents,” she said.

The DNC Host Committee previously told The TRiiBE about its efforts to uplift minority-owned businesses during the event even through multiple efforts to encourage visitors to spend their dollars across all of Chicago’s neighborhoods.

Sims-Jones said the event reflects the Democratic Party’s mission of showcasing the country’s diverse business sector by zooming in on what Chicago has to offer. “They’re talking about a country that highlights this diverse business economy will make our country strong, and that’s how our economy can be strong,” Sims-Jones said. “So they wanted to show that Chicago does this well, so our country can do this well. “

DemPalooza’s reach also stretches beyond the city’s limits. For Toyiah Marquis, the owner of Patch Party Club, the event has worked to uplift her business. She has a brick-and-mortar in the village of Westchester, nearly 15 miles west of Chicago, where she creates custom patches. Created specifically for the event, Marquis showcased a pink and green patch spelling out presumptive 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ name and is a reference to her membership in the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

“It’s a historical moment, and I am so happy to be able to be a part of it and to see this actually happening here in Chicago,” said Maquis of having her business featured during the event.

The full schedule for Demalooza includes sets from local DJs such as DJ Mustafa Rocks and DJ Ca$h Era to appearances from notable Chicagoans like George’s Room record shop legend George Daniels, showcasing and providing a stage for local talent.

Sister Amaya Moss and Mary Presley from Philadelphia, who are experiencing Chicago for the first time, said the event has given them a look into Chicago’s business community.

“I like seeing all the small businesses around and kind of connecting with different groups that we would never really touch in Philadelphia,” said Moss, who works for Pennsylvania State Rep. Jennifer O’Mara.

As of publishing time, there was no public information about the lineup. Limited information about Dempalooza can be found on the DNC 2024 website. Barrett said the lineup won’t be posted publicly.