Name: PITCH COMPETITION
Start: 2025-08-23T15:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-08-23T16:00:00-04:00
Location: The Cleveland Garlic Festival

Join LDEI Cleveland at the Cleveland Garlic Festival in Shaker Square on Saturday, August 23 (3:00pm) for its third annual PITCH COMPETITION!
Female entrepreneurs in the food, beverage, or hospitality industries operating in Northeast Ohio (both women-owned start-up businesses and established businesses) were invited to apply. We had 13 amazing women-owned food/beverage/hospitality business applicants, and three finalists have been selected to make their business growth pitches at this year’s competition.
Congratulations to our three finalists – Please come help cheer them on!
Jewels Rossi, Owner, Mangia Dolce
Mangia Dolce provides experience-driven, creative catering, barista/bartending services from authentic European Market vehicles.
Jennifer Taggart, Owner, Lake Erie Scoops
Lake Erie Scoops is located in Gordon Square and offers premium homemade ice cream, non-dairy frozen treats, breakfast cereal sweets, “penny” candy, novelty sodas, and scratch-made baked goods.
Markisha Parker, Founder and CEO, Parker Farms
Parker Farms is an urban farming operation in Warren, Ohio specializing in high quality tomato varieties, vegetables, and herbs grown sustainably on small parcels of land.
We encourage you to come meet these awesome women and hear their pitches at the main events tent at the Cleveland Garlic Festival at 3pm on Saturday, August 23rd where we’ll be awarding prizes of $1000, $2000, and $3000! You can also meet our finalists at the Shaker Square North Union Farmer’s Market on Saturday, August 16th from 8am-12pm.