Minneapolis celebrates Latino Business Week this week for the first time in the city’s history to highlight local Latino businesses.

The week stretches from Sunday, Oct. 6 to Sunday, Oct. 13 with events ranging from marketing workshops to a farmers market.

“Minneapolis’ growing Latino community is essential to our city’s cultural vibrancy and economic strength,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a press release. “From small mom-and-pop shops on Lake Street to larger enterprises employing people across the city, Latino-owned businesses are creating jobs, enriching neighborhoods, and strengthening our local economy with their resilience and diversity.”

Minneapolis’ Small Business Team Manager Zoe Thiel said Wednesday and Thursday’s events are angled toward Latino entrepreneurs.

“The folks really interested in learning about what it takes to start a business, what resources there are for businesses (is what the events are about),” Thiel said. “The workshops both today and tomorrow are (also) hosted in Spanish.”

Service providers, including the Lake Street Council, will be present at CareerForce on Thursday in south Minneapolis from 1 to 4 p.m. They will answer questions about workers’ rights, driver’s licenses and immigration pathways to U.S. employment authorization, according to the City of Minneapolis’ website.

Oscar Corral, the business outreach specialist for the Lake Street Council, said the council provides resources such as legal assistance, marketing and permits to business owners.

The council will be tabling at the CareerForce event to ensure local Latino businesses are heard, Corral added. 

To end the week, the Latino Economic Development Center is hosting the Latinx Farmers Market Pop-up, which will showcase Latin music and cuisine.

A market manager for the event, Gladys Mejia, said the market is an opportunity for farmers and different organizations to come together and share their products and services.

“We have supported a variety of urban agriculture initiatives for youth and young adults,” Mejia said. “Like teaching them how to conserve food or teaching them how to grow food, like how to install different water systems, sustainable land care, different things like that. I thought a farmers market is not too different.”

The market will have 40 vendors, live music, two dance groups and a mobile health unit giving out vaccines, market manager Levi Welbourne said.

Thiel said the market will economically benefit Latino business owners while providing a fun experience for community members.

“Everybody loves Sunday trips to the farmers market,” Thiel said.

Mejia said the goal is to keep the market going annually for every Latino Business Week to provide a place to celebrate Latino culture.

“It’s just going to be a place to support local Latinx business owners, farmers, and a place to come have dinner, bring your family, have fun, dance and celebrate the way the Latinx community would with good food and good music,” Mejia said.