As the magic of Winter by the Water unfolds, one of the more bustling locations is sure to be the BECU Vendor Marketplace, where attendees can enjoy a good variety of food and drink, gifts and experience-based offerings, with kid-friendly activities woven throughout. It’s also a great place to warm up, shop for something unexpected and discover a new favorite local maker.
The spacious hall inside the BHICC will be curated in partnership with Intentionalist, a Seattle-based platform dedicated to making it easy to find and support small businesses and the diverse people behind them. Its work centers on everyday choices — where we eat, drink, and shop — and how those choices can strengthen communities.
Winter by the Water is not the first time BECU, a member-owned, not-for-profit credit union, and Intentionalist have worked together.
BECU Philanthropy Director Gloria Dixon called the partnership "unique" because it helps support small businesses that would normally incur significant costs to be part of a marketplace like this. “By covering these, the small businesses are not starting in the negative. What they earn can support continued growth,” she said.
Representation certainly matters, and that fact will be celebrated by all of the Black, Queer, Hispanic, Asian American and women-owned vendors participating in the marketplace.
Love Lurra, started by mother-daughter duo Mesha and Karla, sells handcrafted natural bath and body products made with clean ingredients. Photo courtesy of Intentionalist
Stop and smell the wares at Noir Lux Candle Co., indulge your sweet tooth at Cocoa Legato, enjoy a glass of kombucha from Seeking Ferments, fast forward to springtime with a new plant from booSH Nursery, or pick up your next read from Push/Pull. Intentionalist will also have a table set up where you can play Plinko and win coupons to more local businesses.
You can even rub elbows with two Seahawks legends — Michael Bennett and Doug Baldwin — as they take on guests in friendly games of pickleball from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Step up, grab a paddle and go head-to-head with the Seattle icons while learning how their nonprofit Champions of Change supports community-based organizations across our region. This is also a sneak peek of their celebrity pickleball tournament coming Seafair weekend — and you’re invited.
Passport hunters, don’t forget to visit the Clipper Vacations booth to try your hand at tying a nautical knot and say hello to a Downtown Seattle Association ambassador to mark two stamps off your to-do list.
Beyond this weekend, BECU and Intentionalist’s partnership continues through the support of their online small business search tool, which now includes seasonal pop-up activations, increased visibility and marketing of 'Small Business Saturday' with a particular emphasis on shopping small during the World Cup and other high profile Washington tourism events.