BATON ROUGE - Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome's Summer of Hope continued this weekend with the third annual Kidfest. 

Hundreds made it out to Scotlandville Parkway for a day of fun, food, and music, while also learning about valuable resources for the upcoming school year and to see what kids are making a difference in their community. 

Kidfest is now in its third year, but this event has been going on under a different name for over 20 years. 

For many, this event used to be about celebrating the now-federal holiday of Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery. 

"There was nothing happening about 20ish years ago in Scotlandville to honor and commemorate Juneteenth, and so the Community Against Drugs and Violence, they started this event to bring awareness to help younger generations of children understand the meaning of Juneteenth," Krystale Veals of EnrollBR said.

In 2022, the event changed its name to Kidfest to celebrate and educate kids in the community. One way they're celebrating is with "Kidpreneurs."
 
"We've identified 13 kids that own their own business, and so that's really what today is all about, encouraging children to do more," Pat McCallister-LeDuff of Scotlandville Community Development Corporation said.

WBRZ got the chance to meet multiple kids in Baton Rouge who started their companies. some of the products they created included lip gloss, air fresheners, and origami art. 

"I'm here to show people that paper is just not something to just throw away in the trash you know. You want to expand the creativity of children's minds and what they can do, especially with talented artists," Phillip Alexander, who has his own company called Blue of Wonders.

Organizers wanted to make sure adults knew it's never too early to start thinking about the next school year. KidFest's co-organizer, EnrollBR, got more than 20 schools to register for the event. The schools were there to help enroll and register students on the spot if they hadn't already been.
 
"So we have three major tracks that our high school students will be able to put into action this year. They can be a private pilot or a drone pilot. We also have a partnership with BRCC, for students who want to major in being an aviation maintenance technician," Charita Sellers of the Helix Aviation Academy said.

Along with rides, face painting, and tons of music, the Baton Rouge Police and Fire departments participated in the fest to build trust and friendship in the community-- and maybe even inspire some of the next generation of police officers and firefighters. 

Kidfest cohosts EnrollBR and Community Against Drugs and Violence say they plan on continuing to hold this event annually and expanding it each year.