Seattle innovators and business owners gathered at Imperia in Lake Union for the eighth annual Impact Pitch Competition. Hosted by Business Impact NW, the event allows entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas and companies to a panel of experts and ultimately compete for grants.

Seattle artist Lakema Bell’s one woman show Tell It Like It ’TIS’ took place at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center last weekend, taking audience members on a heartfelt journey through her reawakening. 

#WalkTheBlock - Our Community Queen of Converge, Trae Holiday, tapped in at Wa Na Wari’s Walk The Block on last Saturday. The annual event brings artists together with the community to showcase their work and spread creative energy while celebrating the joy and beauty that is present within the Central District and beyond.

Converge Queens connected at Takiyah “TDUB” Ward’s soft opening of her brand new Re-Sole retail shop on E Union street as Trae Holiday joined her to speak about the milestone. The shop specializes in custom sneaker painting, dry-cleaning, and more and has become known as one of the top sneaker care shops in Seattle.

Our Community Queen TraeAnna Holiday showed out at Black and Loud Festival - a Seattle music festival built to feature Black-fronted bands from around the world. Taking place at The Crocodile Seattle, it was an evening to remember featuring top acts.

September 29th was national coffee day, and to celebrate Besa Gordon headed to Boon Boona Coffee in Renton to learn all about the coffee-making process and taste different brews.

Back2Besa host Besa Gordon stopped by SpoonFed Training in Renton to tap in with Fitness Coach Adaeze Medani and showcase some ways you can stay in shape as well as the natural methods she uses. Medani and Gordon went through a workout which can be done in the fitness studio or at home, and you can follow along and try out some of the exercises they did.

Last week, Besa Gordon headed to the Metier Brewing Taproom in the Central District for their newly-launched Sunday fried chicken and beignet brunch.

Our Community Queen Trae Holiday was part of the first ever Het Heru Healing Conference in Seattle, which brought spiritual leaders and healers to Langston Hughes to lead sessions and discuss their work.

Last week, Besa Gordon checked in from the Creative Justice Back To School Giveback at Washington Hall. The event featured donations of clothing, school supplies, shoes and more as kids got ready to head back to school for the 2023-24 school year.

Seattle’s The Poetry Experience celebrated their 25th anniversary earlier this month, marking a quarter-century of sharing, creating, and community building. Founded by Rajnii Gibson-Eddins, The Poetry Experience consists of workshops and held space for people to come together and explore the power of the written word. The celebration took place at Blue Cone Studios, bringing together poets like Monique Franklin, Ebo, Roberto Ascalon and more.

Looking for something to do this weekend? Anthony and Marlie Love of Traveling While Black have you covered. In their segment on Back2Besa, they told us about four great fall activities you can do around Washington State and beyond.

Our Besa Gordon tapped in at the world-famous Communion Seattle during their annual fish fry. She spoke with Chef Kristi Brown about what makes the event so special and you know she had to try some of the food.

Besa Gordon sat down with world-renowned chef Kristi Brown to talk about her journey into starting her own restaurant and the advice she has for entrepreneurs.

Noir Lux Candle Co. CEO Colina Bruce was at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill to celebrate the launch of Starbucks new Seattle Community Capsule Collection, which will be on sale exclusively at the Roastery. The set of three candles has been in development for nearly a year, and complement the flavors of some of the roastery's newest coffees. The box includes blackberry, citrus, and cream inspired fragrances.

Our Community Queen @traeholiday was out at Tacoma’s Hilltop Street Fair, which features art, vendors, music and more. While there, she caught up with Black-owned businesses like Intentions Juice Bar (@intentionsjuicebar), Chain of Seasonings (@chainofseasonings) and more.

What’s former NBA Champion Channing Frye up to now? We headed down to Portland to find out. Besa Gordon caught up with the hooper-turned-winemaker to hear about Chosen Family Wines and the way he’s turned his passion for wine into a business.

Our Back2Besa crew was at the Empowering Youth and Families Outreach Summer Literacy Academy at Holly Park Community Church on Thursday, August 17th. The eight-week program focuses both on academic and social growth, providing students with an opportunity to fill in gaps, make up for academic loss, and get ahead for the upcoming school year.

Welcome to A 4 Apple Learning Center. Our Trae Holiday stopped by to chat with Co-Owner and Teacher Appollonia Washington (Miss Apple) for #NationalBlackBusinessMonth to hear about the work being done at the center as she seeks to inspire the next generation through early learning and literacy.

“My pieces of advice would be to come in with humility, enjoy your passion, and be ready to work,” NBA Champion Channing Frye said.