By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
Dozens of young entrepreneurs set up their small businesses beneath the pavilion at Ogletree Gap Park for the fifth annual Oscar's Market held by Lemonade Day Fort Hood Area in partnership with the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce.
Oscar’s Market was founded in 2020 by Michelle Rocha O'Sullivan, who is a board member of the Chamber of Commerce, as part of an initiative to promote entrepreneurship among the youth of Copperas Cove. This year, Lemonade Day Fort Hood Area partnered with Rocha O’Sullivan and helped extend their mission of Lemonade Day into Oscar’s Market.
Rocha O’Sullivan said that she named Oscar’s Market after her dad, Oscar, and she turned Oscar into an acronym- Operation Student Community Advocate Readiness.
Through Lemonade Day, which is held the first weekend in May each year, children become business owners and the boss for a day or two as they create, plan and market their own lemonade stand. Oscar’s Market serves as another opportunity for children, up to age 18, to come up with their own idea for a business, attend workshops and classes to learn about marketing and business plans, and then they get to actually set up their own booth, like a real vendor, at a farmer’s market style event.
Many of the young entrepreneurs at Saturday’s event were selling lemonade or some type of refreshment plus something extra, like art or freeze-dried candy or snacks or baked goods or sno-cones and more.
“It's really close to my heart,” Rocha O’ Sullivan said about Oscar’s Market. “I love it. These kids are inspiring. We teach them to share. We teach them to save, and we teach them to spend. So, a lot of them have to where they're sharing donations to organizations- we have one for CASA, one that is for Stroke Victims, one is doing to a youth group. We’ve had them before where they donate to the animal shelter. It's great that they're knowing and using the three S’s and putting back into the community that they live in as well.”
Judges were present and walking around to each booth to see which youth would take home 1st, 2nd or 3rd place.
The judges were checking to see if the kids took advantage of the classes that were offered and how they are utilizing what they learned in their business at the market.
“Because a business just isn't, even though it’s farmer's market style, it's not just a table and a booth,” Rocha O’Sullivan said. “You’ve got to do your business, got to do inventory. The way your booth is set up is also what's going to attract customers to you, so they learn these things. So, when they’re going around, what they’re looking for is they’re making sure that they understand, like, ‘Hey, why did you go into business?’ Because an entrepreneur is just not somebody who decided to open a business one day. They found a need, they found a niche that they have, and they're making that passion into an income.”
Rocha O’Sullivan added that this also helps provide the youth with confidence in speaking to adults and helping them grow stronger in their business.
The first-place winner received a $500 scholarship plus a secured booth space at the annual Krist Kindl Markt this December. The second-place winner won $300 plus a booth, and third place won$200 and a certificate.
Kyrei Hartsfield of Stroke Survivor Lemonade and Kyrei’s Colors took 1st place and earned a spot at the Krist Kindl Markt later this year. Trenton Buckram of Trentman’s Lemonade earned 2nd place. Nadiya Byrd of Galaxy Lemonade earned 3rd place.
Nyla Brandon, 11, is a Killeen ISD sixth-grader who was named the 2025 Lemonade Day Fort Hood Area Youth Entrepreneur and was the 1st Runner Up in the Lemonade Day National Youth Entrepreneur of the Year contest. Her business is Nawaii Lemonade, and it also won the Best of the Zest award from Lemonade Day Fort Hood Area this year. In addition to pineapple, mango and strawberry lemonade, Nawaii Lemonade also had Kool-Aid soaked pineapple rings available for sale as well as musubi, which sold out quickly.
Nyla said her lemonade stand was inspired by Hawaii, because she wanted to go to Hawaii. She combined Hawaii with her first name and got the name Nawaii. She said she went to Hawaii a few months ago and fell in love with the island, so now her goal is to go to Hawaii at least once a year.
to go to Hawaii.
“It's just like a great feeling to be an entrepreneur at such a young age,” Brandon said about being set up at Oscar’s Market.
Just a few booths away was The Art Gallery, which is owned by 8th-grader Ayden Jordan. The Art Gallery serves up art and baked goodies.
“About a year ago, I discovered a love for baking and abstract art,” Jordan said.
The love for art came after Jordan began homeschooling and discovered the non-profit organization called Killeen Creatives. The love for baking came about after Jordan made brownies for his football team.
“I just loved the feeling of getting chased around by everybody, and I was going to leave home with extra, but I looked down at my tray, and it was crumbled and no brownies were left,” Jordan said.
In addition to the art, there were also truffles, brownies, cookies and more. There was also a raffle, where a winner could walk away with the delicious goodies and an art kit.
Jordan said leading up to the day of Oscar’s Market, it was stressful trying to get everything prepared and ready, but once he got there and had everything set up, it was easy, even with the judges coming up and asking about his business.
Jordan said that the art is important, but he also felt that food is a form of art. He added that art and baking help him express himself.
“I’m going to give you a little bit of my expression to go home with. Hopefully they light a spark in you to go home and make your own expression wall or expression pieces,” he said, referring to the baked goods and artwork.
Other businesses set up at Oscar’s Market included: Sunshine Snowcones, Youth Impacting the World, The Hydration Station, Chains and Thangs, Larry Lemonade, Inc., Mia’s Lemonade and More, Rosie’s Little Bags, Noah’s Merch, CoLe’s Adventure Supplies, and more.
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.