Between 130 and 150 people came through the garden
and stayed until the light went.
August is National Black Business Month. On August 23, as the sun came down over the Eastside, the light softened, the air warmed, and people slowed down and showed up for one another.
Golden Hour Unboxed was a free, cross-cultural evening at Bellevue Botanical Garden where Black entrepreneurs, artists, families, and allies gathered under the sunset to mingle, share, and rise together. It celebrated the many ways our community contributes to the Eastside — through art, food, storytelling, mentorship, and the everyday work of building something from nothing.
It was more than an event. Emerging Black entrepreneurs met seasoned professionals. Families experienced cross-cultural exchange in real time. Artists, vendors, and community builders were seen and supported.
This page is the record of that night. The vendors are still here with live links to their shops, because the point was never the evening. The point was what people carry out of it.
Here is what we can say with a straight face. Attendance is our own estimate, given as a range, because nobody was standing at the scanner — and we would rather tell you that than round up.
Year one proved the night works. Year two is about doing it without asking anyone to absorb the cost.
What the City covered. A 10,000 dollar contract from the City of Bellevue paid for the venue, the permits, the licensing and the logistics. It did that job well, and it is the reason the evening was free to every guest.
What it did not cover. Almost everything guests actually experienced. The photography and the video, the host, the commissioned spoken word piece, the event-day coordination and the catering labor were donated or discounted — more than sixty hours of given time, alongside nine volunteers who worked the night from setup through teardown. Golden Hour Unboxed happened because those people said yes. We are still saying thank you.
What year two needs. This year was the bare minimum and we made the best of it. Next year is not a different event — it is the same evening with a few more milestones: vendors and community tables at this scale or larger depending on our venue partnership, the team paid for their work, and the founders prize funded before it is announced rather than after.
The demand is already here. Vendors have asked to come back, and guests have asked for a winter market — a second night indoors, with the same room and the same care — and there is an appetite for an arts-led edition. Golden Hour Unboxed was built as one evening a year. With the right partners it could be a season.
Sponsorships and gifts are received through Eastside For All, our nonprofit partner and a DBA of Alliance for a Just Society, a 501(c)(3), so your support is a charitable contribution.
Doors at 5:30. Program at 6:00. Twilight social until 9:00 — and then a room full of vendors, volunteers and guests broke it all down together before the garden closed.
Vendor Village, the garden, and check-in. Some makers sold out.
Besa Gordon, our emcee for the evening.
Katoya R. Palmer, founder of ToyBox Consulting & Management.
Conferred at Bellevue City Council on August 4 and accepted in person.
A recorded message from King County Executive Girmay Zahilay.
Black Business Month, dated August 23, 2026.
Chezik Tsunoda, founder of No More Under, honored with a lapel pin.
“Keep the Receipts” — on the investments nobody sees.
Thirty-six minutes with nothing on the stage competing for you. This is the golden hour the night is named for.
Jermaine Murray of Fathers Against Human Trafficking took the mic — two minutes, no slides, no net — with live feedback from our judges, Derrick and Tanise Love of Sync Seattle. He walked away with a ToyBox consulting engagement.
A non-alcoholic toast for everyone, all ages. Thank-yous.
Microphones off, music off. Just the room, the garden, and the last of the light. Tables stay open.
Commissioned spoken word · 6:56
Every entrepreneur has receipts, and not just the ones printed on paper. Melissa wrote and performed a commissioned piece, and donated her time. It is about the unseen investments behind every dream — the sacrifices, the setbacks, and the quiet acts of faith that never make the highlight reel.
An author, poet and speaker who collects stories the way some people collect passport stamps, she is drawn to the beautifully awkward, deeply human moments we usually keep to ourselves. A U.S. Army veteran with a career in public service, she is as comfortable in a boardroom as on an open mic stage.
Twenty tables. Black-owned businesses and makers selling inside, community organizations out in the garden. Everything bought went straight to the person who made it — and every shop is still linked below.
Pack the Box, our school supply drive, ran all evening and raised several hundred dollars in supplies and cash for the schools with the highest need.
The Black Hair Care Drive, led by Identity Unboxed and the Black Roots Coalition and hosted at the Zara Jo Beauty Supply table. Hair care products for young people across the county, in its third year.
A giving page that guests used from their phones during the evening. Gifts go through Eastside For All, our nonprofit partner, so giving to Golden Hour is a charitable donation. It is still open →
Photography by Erik “Kaligraphy” Wilson, Co-Founder, Converge Media. He shot every frame on this page and gave them to the event.
Photography by Erik “Kaligraphy” Wilson, Co-Founder, Converge Media.
All six showed up on their own, before anyone sent a survey. Three people who had never met each other reached for the same word.
“I’ve attended many networking events where the energy felt transactional… the environment Katoya cultivated exuded warmth and undeniable vibrancy. It felt like a big happy family coming together to support and learn from one another. Reciprocity was at the heart of the event.”Brad Blackburn III, Identity UnboxedLinkedIn · August 24, 2026
“Thank you to our host @katoyapalmer of @toyboxconsulting for curating such an intentional, thoughtful, and vibrant space.”Zara Jo Beauty SupplyInstagram · August 25, 2026
“A huge thank you to @toyboxconsulting @katoyapalmer for hosting such a vibrant event and bringing this incredible community together.”MELA GiftsInstagram · August 24, 2026 · vendor
“What an amazing event! A special thank you to @toyboxconsulting for having us — we truly appreciate you more than you know. Keep supporting small businesses and local entrepreneurs!”The Sauce by Tyrone JonesInstagram · August 24, 2026 · vendor
“Many golden moments unfolded. We can’t wait to be there next year and support this event as it grows.”SPLASHForwardFacebook · August 24, 2026 · community table. Disclosure: Katoya Palmer serves as SPLASHForward’s Treasurer.
“I loved working alongside my beautiful friend Kitaka Makarin at the front door, checking people in… This was my first time experiencing Bellevue Botanical Garden.”Darnesha LoveInstagram · August 25, 2026 · volunteer
Event news, sponsor and vendor opportunities, and ways to volunteer, delivered to your inbox.
Get event updatesPack the Box raised several hundred dollars in school supplies and cash gifts for students in the schools with the highest need, PreK through high school.
The Black Hair Care Drive, led by Identity Unboxed and the Black Roots Coalition and hosted at the Zara Jo Beauty Supply table, collected hair care products for young people across the county, donated to Treehouse.
Gifts to Golden Hour are received through Eastside For All, a DBA of Alliance for a Just Society, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
Give to Golden Hour →Producer, host, and event management — the people stewarding the evening from concept to closing toast.
Strategist, cultural producer, and Bellevue-based small business owner. Builds at the intersection of community, equity, and execution.
Voice of the evening. Multimedia journalist and storyteller carrying the program from sunset to twilight.
Operational backbone of the evening — vendor coordination, run-of-show, and day-of logistics.
A first-year event, a City grant, and no safety net. Sixteen posts on what it actually took — the yeses, the declines, the budget math, the parts nobody puts on a flyer. The series is still up.
Watch the series on TikTok
Golden Hour Unboxed happened because these people said yes, and then showed up.
ToyBox Consulting & Management — Katoya R. Palmer, Producer
City of Bellevue Cross-Cultural Center without Walls — programming partner
Symetra — championed by Beth Osborne, received through Eastside For All, our nonprofit partner
An anonymous donor — event decor
Sync Seattle — marketing & promotions partner; Derrick and Tanise Love judged the pitch showcase
Converge Media — covered the event, hosted Katoya live on the show, and Deaunte Dampier gave it airtime on We Live in Color
Erik “Kaligraphy” Wilson, Co-Founder of Converge Media — photography; also of Contemporary Love Affair
Primo’s Bellevue — caterer
Eastside For All — nonprofit partner
Besa Gordon — emcee
Jermaine Murray, Fathers Against Human Trafficking — pitch showcase; receives a ToyBox consulting engagement
Melissa Margain — “Keep the Receipts,” commissioned spoken word, time donated
Charmaine Madden — event management & logistics
Terri Palmer & Charmaine Madden — volunteer coordinators
Darnesha Love, Kitaka Makarin & LaCretiah Claytor — the front door
And the volunteers, vendors and guests who broke the room down together at the end of the night.
Identity Unboxed — podcast; Brad Blackburn III & Tiana Cole and the Black Roots Coalition — Black Hair Care Drive, hosted at the Zara Jo Beauty Supply table
Pack the Box — every guest who brought a box
City of Bellevue — proclamation, August 4
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay — proclamation and recorded welcome
Angela Phan, King County Executive Office — attended
Bellevue Chamber of Commerce — Member News and the Chamber calendar
Northwest Newsradio — Aaron Wright had Katoya on air August 22
Disclosure: Katoya Palmer serves on the Bellevue Chamber board.
Twenty Black-owned businesses, makers and community organizations tabled with us on August 23. Every shop is still linked. Keep shopping.
Community organizations that tabled at Golden Hour Unboxed — mission-aligned neighbors who brought resources, connection, and welcome to the Vendor Village.
The Black-owned businesses and artists who tabled with us on August 23 — and the ones who could not make this one. Shop all of them. Click any logo to learn more →
Mission-aligned nonprofits and community partners bringing resources, connection, and welcome to Vendor Village.
Vendor tables, storyteller spots and pitch slots are all closed for August 23. Thank you to everyone who put their name in — there was more interest than one evening could hold. The best way in now is to come as a guest, and there are nineteen tables waiting for you.
See the Program →Public servants who saw the vision early and lent their offices to lift Black Business Month on the Eastside.
"Bellevue welcomed me with wide open arms, and made room for me at table after table. I want every Black business owner building in this city to feel that — because every entrepreneur deserves that kind of welcome."
— Katoya R. Palmer, accepting the City of Bellevue's proclamation declaring August 2026 as Black Business Month, delivered by Deputy Mayor Dave Hamilton on behalf of Mayor Mo Malakoutian and the Bellevue City Council.
"Black Business Month takes on particular meaning on the Eastside, where a new generation of Black founders, makers, and small business owners is reshaping the cultural and economic fabric of our communities."
— King County Executive Girmay Zahilay, proclaiming August 2026 as Black Business Month and recognizing Black Entrepreneurship on the Eastside. Angela Phan, East County Relations Manager in the King County Executive Office, attended in person.
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay could not be in the garden, so he sent a welcome ahead of the evening. It played at 6:22, right after the City of Bellevue proclamation. Here it is, as the room saw it.
▶Vimeo · King County Executive’s OfficeA welcome from Executive Girmay ZahilayClick to play. Nothing loads from Vimeo until you do.
Golden Hour Unboxed happened because these partners put their names on it. Year two is open — sponsor 2027.
Symetra
Championed by Beth Osborne
Sync Seattle
Seattle-based speaker, social impact expert, and event curator. Co-founder of Sync Seattle, a community-driven events company that has hosted 125+ experiences connecting people to one another, to local businesses, and to Black-led causes. Through her storytelling, Substack (Vibing Through Grief), and greeting card line (Lingering Love Notes), she helps people feel seen and choose joy.
Seattle-based technology and product leader with 20+ years shaping enterprise data platforms, security programs, and AI-driven solutions. A member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and co-founder of Sync Seattle alongside his wife Tanise, he is dedicated to mentorship and community servant leadership.
Converge Media
Converge Media is an Emmy Award‑winning, Seattle‑born producer of news, shows, and films that center Black voices across the Pacific Northwest — and they’re helping tell the story of Golden Hour Unboxed.
Eastside for All
Eastside For All is our nonprofit partner for this event. A DBA of Alliance for a Just Society, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, they are an East King County organization led by and for Black and brown community members, organizing for a safe, welcoming, and just Eastside. They receive, receipt, and safeguard every charitable gift made to Golden Hour Unboxed. eastsideforall.org
Conversations welcome at any level. Review the one-sheet and partnership deck, or just reply with what you're thinking.
What was written, signed and said about the night. Media inquiries: katoya@toyboxconsulting.net.
Golden Hour Unboxed: Cultivating Black Entrepreneurship in BellevueWatch the recap on Converge Media →Katoya produced Golden Hour Unboxed the same way she runs her client work: the vendor licensing, the insurance, the run of show, the giving page, the volunteer roster, the closeout — all of it built to hold. If your organization is running a program, an event, or a whole year on goodwill and one spreadsheet, come talk to her.
Presented by ToyBox Consulting & Management as part of the City of Bellevue's Cross-Cultural Center without Walls.
Book a discovery call → toyboxconsulting.netGolden Hour Unboxed is a free, public evening built to close that gap — for Black entrepreneurs, their families, and the whole Eastside community that gathers around them.
We hold this gathering in August, during National Black Business Month, because the timing matters. We hold it at Bellevue Botanical Garden because the place matters. We hold it as part of the City of Bellevue's Cross-Cultural Center without Walls because the structure of belonging matters.
This isn't a passive cultural showcase. It's an active exchange — Black entrepreneurs, allies, and neighbors sharing names, ideas, and how to find each other after the sun sets.
Year two is in motion. Get the date first, and the vendor call before it opens.
