CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — In commemoration of the final day of Black History Month, the Dairy Market will host its Black Artisan Market this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The purpose is to celebrate Black History Month, because we want to uplift and support our local black entrepreneurs and artists,” Dairy Market General Manager Anna Payne told Cville Right Now.

The market will feature 15 local vendors and two local DJs. The vendors will be offering a variety of products including jewelry, skin care, vegan snacks, soaps, candles and more. Professional headshots will also be available from photographer K’re Johnson and his company, Kreative Kulture Production. If interested, patrons are asked to reach out to Johnson on social media to reserve their spot for Saturday.

The Dairy Market has also partnered up with the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center to offer a 15% discount to participating Diary Market merchants for those registered for the Liberation and Freedom Day Run and Walk, which will take place on March 3. The coupon will be redeemable on race day.

Payne said one of his favorite parts of the event is the soul food made by Vizena Howard, President of the 10th/Page Neighborhood Association.

“If you love fried fish, fried chicken, greens, mac and cheese,” Payne said, “you don’t want to miss Ms. Howard. It’s always a real treat.”

Payne said the market loves hosting events like the Black Artisan Market because they support the local community.

“That is what really makes this event extra special for us,” she said, “because we want to be the community hub and we’re proud to host event like this that bring people together. Because in this day and age, we don’t have enough of this.”

She specifically mentioned how the event supports the community’s Black entrepreneurs and artists, with many having done the market in the past and kept in touch with Payne afterward. When the market started to discuss bringing the event back this year, Payne reached back out to many of them to gauge interest and was met with an “overwhelming” response.

“We had to pick and choose,” she said. “It was a hard choice, because we said, ‘Whoever didn’t get selected this time, they would definitely get a shot at the next venture.'”

The event is also a part of the market’s initiative to host a community event at least once a month or once a quarter. Payne said the market is also always looking for new events to host, hence the idea to host a Black Artisan Market rather than a typical flea market.

“We want to keep it fresh every single time,” she said.

Payne said the market hopes to host similar events in the future, particularly one she called an “urban pop-up,” with all of the local entrepreneurs who sell hand-made goods.

“Some of these venues, it’s amazing to see the candles, the soaps, the jewelry,” she said, “because you just know the amount of time and creativity it takes to do those things. And those folks should be recognized for that.”

Payne herself has bought plenty of products from said entrepreneurs and is “amazed” by quality of their products.

“It’s just amazing,” she said. “It just blows my mind. I wish I was that creative to come up and be able to do something like that.”