CINCINNATI — Dozens of people came to the 4th Annual Shop Small Cincinnati event Saturday, which featured more than 30 vendors with a variety of items to choose from including candles, jewelry, and clothing.

Lavita Board is the event coordinator and owner of Vitascents Candles, one of the candle vendors. Every year, she coordinates the event to help small business owners promote their businesses.

“Most of us produce our products at home or order and receive products and work out of our home, and so we do these type of events so we can meet and interact with customers,” said Board.

She said the event was needed more than ever this year because of lost revenue due to the pandemic. Those in attendance took extra precautions to keep everyone safe.

“We’re all wearing masks, we have extra disposable masks in case people come in without them,” she said. “We’re following the rules with social distancing masks, but we also have to come out and make sales because we still need the income.”

Supporting small businesses like Vitascents is something that Diane Maloney said is essential to keep the community thriving. She was one of dozens of people to check out the 30 plus vendors.

“On the weekend, we kind of just like to get out and unwind and definitely want to support the small business owners,” said Maloney. “We don’t want to see anybody lose their businesses over this. We want to still continue to support them and stay strong.”

Board said she looks forward to continuing this event for years to come and is appreciative of the community support.

“We are grateful for all the shoppers that come out and support us,” said Board. “We want to encourage people to shop small and this is all about showcasing our small and home-based businesses and getting everybody to come out and letting everyone know that we’re here.”