In the press
Business Family Kids Expo: how Russian-speaking immigrants in Florida brought together the city, families and local businesses
Archived article. Dates, event announcements and terms reflect the original publication date.
On May 17, the first Business Family Kids Expo made a splash in Florida. Organized by Russian-speaking immigrants, the festival became a notable family event. It brought children, parents, local projects and entrepreneurs together in one place. The event showed that a family expo can be not only lively and welcoming, but also genuinely useful to the community.
How the project began
The driving force behind Business Family Kids Expo was Andrey Stolbunov, president of the nonprofit organization Business Family. A former Moscow lawyer and human rights advocate, he joined other immigrants in creating a distinctive community in Miami that helps people adapt, make useful connections and find solutions in a new country. Read more in this article.
“I understand how businesses serving children operate here and where their problems lie… The idea was to organize a community initiative, bringing those businesses and parents together in one place… We want to identify active businesses that think creatively, the ones that make you say, ‘Wow!’ People whose eyes light up, who want to grow,” Andrey Stolbunov told Rubic.
He shared his idea with Olga Almazova, an immigrant from Moscow. She became the project’s strategic partner and director. Olga was responsible not only for the overall idea, but for putting the entire project together strategically: its concept and structure, partnership model, funnel design, participant offering, and the system of interaction between the venue, partners, team and guests.
This turned Expo from an idea into a working system, with partnership packages, a running order, a program, guest flow planning, communications and a clear approach to future development.
“As an entrepreneur, I understand that simply bringing businesses together in one place is not enough; you need to help them solve problems. And the main problem for any business is finding new customers. So I thought of creating an expo rather than just a meeting: each business could introduce itself, run a workshop, interact with children and meet a stream of potential new customers. Since we expected many children, we also needed plenty of entertainment. That way, businesses could present themselves and meet children and parents, while the children enjoyed a full celebration with entertainers and a show program,” Olga tells Rubic.
A team then formed around Expo, turning the idea of a family gathering into a fully developed city project with a strong concept, partners and an engaging program for families.
The event proved very popular
Despite being a first attempt, the festival was far from a false start. From the outset, it attracted considerable attention from businesses serving children and from families, most of them Russian-speaking immigrants.
“The project recorded 363 registrations. Waiver forms were completed for 307 children, and the total number of people attending is estimated at around 600,” the organizers report.
That is a strong result for a pilot event, confirming families’ keen interest in this format.
Expo brought together 16 partners from education, sports, creative activities, family services, children’s activities, photography, culture, medicine and local business.
Participants gave parents a chance to see the educational, creative and sporting opportunities already available for children in Miami.
Visitors were impressed by the rich and varied program at Business Family Kids Expo: interactive areas, workshops, stage performances, science shows, dance routines, family activities, prize drawings and gifts. Expo was interesting for parents as well as children.
In one place, families could discover a music school, art spaces, a chess and mathematics academy, robotics, dance studios, gymnastics, family fitness, swimming, a photographer, a dental clinic, a cultural project and a substantial entertainment program.
Together, these created the lively, engaging atmosphere of a true family celebration.
“We have lived in Miami for 10 years and have never seen an event like this. We came to introduce our child to robotics and signed up for classes straight away,” says one Russian-speaking immigrant family.
Children presented business ideas too
A children’s market became another highlight of the project. Children could participate not only as guests, but also as young exhibitors with their own products and ideas. This gave the event a lively educational and entrepreneurial dimension.
Participants told Rubic that even adults were genuinely impressed by the children’s creations and were happy to buy them. One girl sold a painting she had made for $15. A 10-year-old boy sold $500 worth of products made on a 3D printer! The children felt like real grown-ups, able to earn real money through their own work.
The successful children’s market gave the organizers another idea: helping children develop business skills while still at school.
“Our main mission is creative educational projects for adults and children. We want this to be an educational project: children learning business. Mentors will explain how business works, how costs are calculated, what profit means, and so on,” Andrey Stolbunov said, sharing the idea.
Awards and categories
And what would a festival be without awards?
The first Business Family Kids Expo Awards ceremony became a separate part of the celebration. The organizers recognized partners who had made an especially memorable contribution to Expo’s atmosphere and results.
“On the morning after Kids Expo ended, we launched a vote. We sent questionnaires to visitors and posted them in the event chat. Parents voted to choose the winners in each category,” Olga explains.
This became an important symbolic continuation of Expo. It helped establish the project not only as an event, but also as an emerging community platform with its own culture of recognizing and supporting partners.
Awards were presented in several key categories:
- Best Interactive Experience — Miami Hula Fitness;
- Best Family Experience — RoboLab;
- Best Educational Impact — Chess & Math Academy;
- Children’s Choice — Mad Monkeys;
- Grand Prize: Community Choice — DIAMANT Dance Studio.
To be continued…
Business Family Kids Expo showed that family community projects can be more than entertainment: they can be well structured and useful to the city, local businesses and families themselves. Events like these build trust, strengthen local connections, provide a platform for small businesses and educational initiatives, and offer children and parents real benefits, experience and new opportunities.
Kids Expo is a fully developed pilot project with results on several levels at once: a family event for visitors, a platform for local partners, a media and community tool, and a potential model for future expansion and grant-supported development.
Interest in developing and expanding festivals like this is already clear. The organizers therefore do not intend to stop at a single event.
Here is a little secret: there is an idea to make Business Family Kids Expo a regular event. That means anyone who missed it in May will have a chance to attend the next large family celebration. When? We will be sure to let you know!