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Photo via Facebook

Photo via Facebook

Photo via Facebook

Sheryl Bennett of BeFriend.

Aretheria Buckingham of Laby B Jewelz & Thangz.

Women of Worth & Excellence, a local educational organization hosted the End of Summer Festival— bringing food, live music by the Soul Tones and small businesses together at the Old Armory Pavilion.

Over ten small businesses from around the region used the opportunity to introduce themselves to Oxford and gain a wider customer base.

Holly Springs-based entrepreneur Aretheria Buckingham, of Lady B Jewelz & Thangz, set up shop during the WOWE event to sell inexpensive jewelry and clothing meant to fit anyone from a size Small to XXXL.

Buckingham saw an advertisement for the festival and reached out to Herod to be a part of it.

“It’s been great,” said Buckingham. “I love doing events like this. It’s for the community to come together and support each other.”

The event’s purpose of supporting and helping others lends itself to Buckingham’s personal motto.

“My motto in life is that you leave a sparkle everywhere you go,” said Buckingham. “I’m what you call a crown fixer. I encourage women to be the best that they can be and to look beautiful [while] at it.”

“I came out to support WOWE because I feel like it’s important to show off entrepreneurs and creatives in the community,” said Tim Woodard of Little Easy Catering. Little Easy Catering, a catering company and express lunch and dinner service, was one of two vendors to provide the food for the End of Summer Festival. Woodard told The Eagle that he was one of many vendors who used the event to make themselves known to the public.

“I thought it was a good thing for Oxford to come out and showcase our talents,” he said.

Through the event, the community not only helps locally owned and small businesses but even people across the ocean.

One vendor, Sheryl Bennett of BeFriend, was selling handmade jewelry from young entrepreneurship students in Liberia to the local community in North Mississippi. Bennett said the money collected from the sales would be sent back to Liberia to help the students.

“It came out of a desire to help a friend who’s in Liberia trying to help with the entrepreneurship of the young people there,” said Bennett. “Liberia went through a transition so now they’re in a rebuilding phase. My friend is in a center where they teach various things about entrepreneurship. I’m really excited about being able to help support them and their families.”

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