How North Texas Became A Must-Stop for the Powerhouse Black on the Block Festival

Black on the Block (BOTB) is returning to North Texas for a sixth time, continuing its amplification of Black-owned businesses and celebration of Black culture.

Created in 2021 by sisters Char and Lanie Edwards, the growing LA-based pop-up festival’s mission is to support Black small business owners while simultaneously uplifting Black enterprise and creativity in the community’s recognized block party style.

On Sunday, Oct. 26, more than 150 Black-owned vendors will assemble at Globe Life Field’s Lot Q in Arlington from 1 to 7 p.m. The event will be hosted by 97.9 The Beat radio personality Jazzi Black and will feature food, music, and dancing, with DJs Phenom, Honey, Kenny Lofton, and Rooty Red providing the sounds. Hip-hop artist Foggieraw will also perform live. 

How North Texas Became a Necessity

After hosting pop-ups in LA and Washington, D.C., Char and Lanie realized the demand for their festival was spreading nationwide. When they asked their followers on social media which city the cultural affair should come through next, Dallas was the overwhelmingly dominant response. The feedback, coupled with some of their close friends residing in Dallas-Fort Worth, made the decision easy.

In April 2023, Black on the Block was held at the Sports Academy at The Star in Frisco, selling out 3,300 tickets.

“It turned out so well, and I think why it’s so important here,” Lanie tells the Observer. “Because there aren’t that many events that happen [in D-FW] compared to Atlanta [and] D.C. Those are like Black meccas, so they’re kind of used to it. But here, I think it’s an even bigger deal because they don’t have as many of those types of events. We’re seeing more and more now, which is awesome.”

What’s more, Lanie says the festival, which at its core aims to give African American entrepreneurs a larger platform, has found one of its biggest markets in Dallas.

“It’s literally our biggest market, even, even compared to L.A.,” she says. “So we started to come back twice a year ’cause it was that big and we got all the love from it.”

Char added that “Dallas is definitely a powerhouse for Black creativity, culture, and entrepreneurship,” pointing out that the city has “a lot of innovation.”

As the festival’s attendance has continued to flourish, the event has had to move locations to accommodate the number of festivalgoers. Last year, it touched down at EpicCentral Grand Lawn in Grand Prairie before relocating to Globe Life Field in Arlington, where it will be held for the foreseeable future.

“This one [Globe Life Field] has withstood the amount of people that come. It really just depends on can the venue handle this amount of people…can it handle parking?” Lanie explains. “We tend to go for more stadiums just because they can handle all of that infrastructure. So, I think it’s gonna be a ‘don’t fix it unless it’s broke’ situation where we’ll probably stay here until maybe we outgrow this, and then we go somewhere else. But for now, the plan is to keep it in Arlington.”

Some vendors who partake in BOTB say they have made thousands of dollars. 

“We were just discussing how one of our food vendors makes $14,000 at these events, and that’s just in one day,” Lanie says. “We had no idea that that would be the type of impact this could have — people are making their rent in one day, or people being able to open brick and mortars after a couple of years of pop-ups.”

Taking the Fun to Blocks All Over the Nation

As entrepreneurs who moved from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles, the Edwards sisters were looking for community. The concept of BOTB emerged after Char was a vendor at an event in L.A. where she was the only Black person. After talking with her sister about her experience, they decided to host their own event where small businesses, music, food and Black culture come together in one place to support Black-owned small businesses and build community in L.A. Thinking it would be just a one-time event, they were surprised when it turned out to be bigger than they expected. They quickly realized it needed to be a recurring occasion.

Since then, they’ve had celebrities such as Chance the Rapper, Tinashe, Keke Palmer, Omarion and Romeo Miller attend the festival. There have also been performances from musicians like Leon Thomas, Sevyn Streeter, Durand Bernarr, LaRussell, Kiana Ledé and DVSN, among others. Furthermore, Char and Lanie have since launched and hosted Wellness Fest, an immersive fashion show and a local music showcase in L.A.

Both are still in shock at the reception of something that was supposed to be a one-time thing.

“It’s really surreal that we’re able to provide a space where people can like reclaim our space — we can have support,” Char says. “When we first started this, we had no idea it would grow to be this large. Every time, it’s a surreal feeling for us. For us to even travel it to several different cities, we never thought it would ever come to this point.”

“The fact that it’s touched so many people beyond even the vendors, just the community as a whole… [we] never would have thought that, and we’re so grateful for that,” Lanie adds.

Earlier this year, the duo announced a partnership with Live Nation Urban to expand their reach into more cities. By next year, they hope to take Black on the Block to London and Canada.

Still, BOTB remains a family affair. In addition to their love of working together, the team they’ve built includes their mom as CFO and their dad, who manages the merch booth at each pop-up. Extended family members also often help with the organization.

Fashion designers themselves, Lanie and Char haven’t had much time to focus on their own endeavors in the apparel industry. They are heavily involved with BOTB, and while they hope to return to their individual projects eventually, they’re happy to help thousands of others make their dreams a reality.  

“We’re literally at the venue. We’re moving things ourselves, so we don’t outsource anybody. We have a small team that does all the production, so we’re very hands-on and haven’t had the best balance with our own businesses,” Lanie laughs. “But at least we get to help thousands of other businesses, so it all works out.”

Black on the Block begins at 1 p.m. at Globe Life Field (1701 E Sanford St, Arlington, TX 76011) on Oct. 26. Tickets start at $20.