Black Entrepreneur State Fair in Minneapolis temporarily closed due to storm damage

Two days into the fifth annual Black Entrepreneur State Fair organizers made the decision to close the event for the day with hopes of being able to continue the fair on Wednesday .

By 9 a.m. Tuesday, dozens of people were gathered at the Cabooze Plaza on Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis, not to attend the fair like initially scheduled, but rather, to begin cleanup.

A storm featuring wind gusts of over 50 miles an hour and hail worked its way through the city Monday evening as the fair was wrapping up.

Fair President Keandrea Shelby said she had just given vendors less than an hour notice to begin packing when tornado sirens started blaring.

“A lot of people lost a lot of their stuff, pretty much all their tents, some people did get out with their merchandise,” Shelby said. “It was really bad.”

When the storm did hit, those present at the fair had to seek shelter inside The Cabooze.

An hour later when vendors came back outside the majority of tents at the fair were destroyed. Shelby said as of Tuesday morning’s count, 35 tents had been completely destroyed.

Some vendors were seen picking through the debris trying to salvage what they could from their stands.

A call to action was made via social media for community support and aid in cleaning up the fair as well as fundraising to replace the lost tents for vendors to continue.

Among the vendors present Tuesday morning was Zeriza Gresham, owner of Zerijnae Soul, who along with family members and volunteers worked to clear her stand of debris.

Monday evening she lost a majority of her food inventory and appliances including a hot dog stand, warmer, and generator.

“Thank God I am alive,” Gresham said recalling the moments the storm hit.

She sold vegan and vegetarian food at the fair and was rushing to pack as the storm rolled in.

“Now where do I go from here?” she said, wiping tears from her face.

According to Gresham, if she can get her equipment working and restock, she’ll continue selling when the fair reopens. But for now, she has to clean.

Shelby said any leftover funds donated to the Black Entrepreneur State Fair will be distributed to the vendors to help cover additional losses to their businesses.

According to Shelby, the fair has dealt with similar issues like this in the past. A few years ago, the fair was also damaged during an overnight storm.

Monday’s storms were more severe, however, and Shelby said she noticed that the aftermath took a hit to some of the vendors’ morale.

“Last night, I could tell a lot of them were defeated,” Shelby said, “but they’re actually in really good spirits now.”

The fair is scheduled to reopen Wednesday at 11 a.m. and runs through August 31.

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