Cupcakes, cryptocurrency, jewelry: New Arlington market showcases diverse community

A fledgling monthly market in Bob Cooke Park is helping business owners share their talents with the community and introduce residents to the East Library and Recreation Center.

The Eastside Exchange, organized by urban planner Dee Powell and building staff has drawn a berth of businesses to offer their good and services. The second market Oct. 16 included cupcake bakers and jewelers, along with resources for people interested in investing in cryptocurrency.

Though confined to a Saturday a month, Powell said the event is far more than a market: it’s a chance to create a space to connect business owners to resources and grow their craft. Powell, founder of the company Do Right by the Streets, said events like the exchange can introduce those historically excluded from urban planning to the process of creating storefronts and spaces they have not always been able to create.

“As a Black community, we’ve always done placemaking, from block parties to cookouts to just spots that everybody pulled up at, whether it was a car wash or vacant lot,” she said.

Those spaces, while integral to the community, are ephemeral and could be affected by city regulations.

“How can we create these spaces that we can’t be pushed off of, that we can’t bought off of or can’t be bought off of or excluded off of?” she asked.

Powell brought the idea for the exchange to Cruz Enriquez, the recreation program coordinator. Enriquez, tasked with developing programs and events that appeal to the community, had brainstormed something similar as a way to help residents nursing startup companies.

“I was craving a market, but I was like, ‘I don’t know how successful this is going to be, I don’t want to jump into something or commit to something that’s not going to be entirely successful for our community.’”

Both market dates have surpassed both Powell’s and Enriquez’s expectations, they said.

The next market, scheduled for Nov. 13, coincides with the library and recreation center’s first-year anniversary block party, which will include vendors, recreation center membership raffles and class previews.

The exchange, as well as the library and recreation center, have come to mean a lot for the surrounding community, Powell said.

“It’s very much going to be a celebration of the East, but also a celebration of the progress that this community has deserved for so long,” she said. “For this one, we’re definitely trying to pack the house.”

Representing, serving a diverse community

East Arlington, particularly the 76010 ZIP code, is the most populous area in the city and among the most diverse, according to census data. The same area has the lowest median income.

The East Library and Recreation Center opened last winter as a groundbreaking facility that received state funding to offer increased internet connectivity, laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots for checkout and space for telehealth or business meetings. The building replaced the long-standing Hugh Smith Recreation Center.

Enriquez said the library and recreation center, through decidedly community-focused programs, has created a berth of new patrons.

“We’ve attracted an entirely new community, an entirely a new demographic and ages that we’ve never seen before. It’s been kind of great to see them come out and build that relationship,” he said.

Enriquez said both he and Powell want to help entrepreneurs cut through the “red tape” associated with doing business with the city.

“When we sat down and talked to some of the vendors, that’s one of their largest concerns,” Enriquez said. “They want to be able to go out into the community, they want to be able to build their brand and sell their items, but it’s such a process for anyone.”

Doing right, Black spaces

Powell, an east Arlington native, always had plans to give back to the community that raised her, even if she did not always plan to facilitate a market.

The two-time UT Arlington graduate founded Do Right by the Streets in 2020 as a way to connect communities with the tools to design spaces. Moving forward, she wants to run the business full-time and lift up burgeoning planners, especially women and Black designers. Through her business, Powell has also organized multiple iterations of the South Dallas MLK Food Park, a pop-up event showcasing locally owned businesses.

“For me the long term goal of that is to be in the classroom, be in the arenas that we only get invited to when it’s panel time or it’s session time,” Powell said.

As far as the Eastside Exchange, Dee wants to create a regular time, place and space for business owners to connect.

Henry Coleman, who sold skin and body oils for Infused by Zen, said the market meant a lot for the business, and he looks forward to seeing what Powell does next.

“I feel like community building like this that Dee does need to be recognized. She’s been doing an awesome job in Arlington and in Dallas bringing the community together,” he said.