The free event, at the Speed Art Museum’s Speed Cinema, is open to the public and boasts an agenda packed with workshops, speakers and other fun activities for aspiring and current founders.

“Our goal with the AWARE:ACCESS program, and this event, is to help entrepreneurs and startups grow,” said Jessica Sharon, director of Innovation Programs at UofL. “At the summit, we’ll have a lot of resources to help them do that, from advice on applying for federal grant funding to how to make the perfect elevator pitch.”

In addition to workshops and speakers, attendees can also participate in a “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition. They can also speak one-on-one with experts in finance, accounting, marketing, human resources and pretty much any other topic a budding entrepreneur might need to know about.

More information and registration are .Ěý

While the summit is open to all, the AWARE:ACCESS, or Accelerating Women and Underrepresented Entrepreneurs: Accelerate Entrepreneurial Success, program has a special focus on women and underrepresented entrepreneurs.Ěý

The program, a National Science Foundation-backed partnership between UofL and Indiana University, provides support to help these entrepreneurs submit more competitive proposals for SBIR and STTR grant funding.

Women entrepreneurs represent only , despite making up some 51 percent of the total population. Collective minorities represent only 10 percent of awardees, combined.

“Diversity unlocks so many new perspectives, ideas and potential innovations,” said Robert S. Keynton, interim executive vice president for Research and Innovation. “In accelerating the success of women and underrepresented entrepreneurs, we hope to improve that diversity of thought and spur new growth and opportunities for all.”

AWARE:ACCESS is one of UofL’s suite ofĚý dubbed the “Superfecta,” to support the translation of research into viable commercial products.ĚýUofL is one of only a handful of universities in the country to receive each of these, and isĚýthe only one to receive all of them.

The Zoneton Fire Department will have its Fire Safety House for participants to walk through, and the Kentucky Cancer Program at UofL will display the pink Horses and Hope Mustang for breast cancer awareness.

Hobbies Café food truck also will be on hand, joining a variety of other vendors at the show, which has sold out its indoor booth spaces, said organizer Richard Luce Jr. Outdoor booth spaces remain available at $20 each.

The Cancer Awareness Show has something for the entire family with three shows-within-the-show: a model train show including 9-by-9, 4-by-16 and 3-by-6 layouts; an arts and crafts show; and “Cruizin’ for Cancer,” a car, truck and motorcycle show and a model car show.

The Zoneton Fire Department’s Fire Safety House is a walk-through model that helps teach children how to best respond to a house fire situation. The house is designed to provide a realistic environment for teaching basic fire prevention and survival skills. Kids learn about smoke detectors, how to determine escape routes from a fire in advance, and the importance of not hiding during a fire.

Former Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear and the organization she founded, Horses and Hope, commissioned the pink Mustang from Paul Miller Ford for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Kentucky Speedway. Since then, the Mustang tours the state to share life-saving breast cancer information. Horses and Hope works with the state’s equine industry to provide breast cancer education, screening and treatment referral.

Also included are prize and cash raffles. Representatives from Be The Match will be on hand to provide information about bone marrow donation. The James Graham Brown Cancer Center also will disseminate information on cancer prevention and treatment.

Admission is a cash donation to the James Graham Brown Cancer Center.