Lupe Aguilar and Ed Brady

Co-Founders of Quahog Creative •  (he/him)

@quahogcreative

Tell us about yourself, your connection to Rhode Island, and your work.

Lupe Aguilar: I’m a community builder and event producer rooted in Cranston. Rhode Island raised me on neighborhood hospitality and big-hearted creativity, and that’s exactly what I pour back into the state through community and food-forward gatherings that spark connection and local pride. With Quahog Creative, Ed Brady and I, along with our team, produce and organize experiences that spotlight our restaurants, food trucks, brewers, bakers, and makers.

Ed Brady: I am a social entrepreneur, producer, and community leader born and raised in Cranston. Lupe and I, with our creative team, established RI Night Market, among many other events and pop-ups. Our mission is to continue to cultivate a vibrant community and marketplace that celebrates local businesses and the unique talents of our region’s artisans, craftsmen, and entrepreneurs. We also produce annual music festivals and events like Character Con and Kids Con. 

What’s your motivation for doing this work?

Aguilar: My mission is always the same: use food, music, and art to bring people together, keep dollars local, and show the world how much heart fits inside the smallest state.

Brady: My personal mission is to bring people back together through continued action. I will continue to protect the arts in Cranston and Rhode Island while helping to create sustainable jobs through my connected network. My focus will remain on helping our local small business community in collaboration with our community leaders to grow a better, more equitable future for our children and the next generation.

In what ways do you hope to leave an impact on the Ocean State in the coming year?

Aguilar: To make the smallest state feel even closer – one market, one vendor success story, one activated block, one event – at a time.

Brady: As I continue to actively work with our local community leaders, I will continue to lead by example in putting political party aside to get people back at a table for common compromise and the good of our beautiful state.

What challenges do you anticipate having to overcome to achieve these goals?

Aguilar: The challenge every year is hearing “This is just how we’ve always done it,” but the goal is to always find those fellow dreamers in each town, department, chamber, and government office who are open to new and fresh ideas.

What’s your reason for optimism approaching 2026?

Brady: We have so many incredible hard-working and passionate people here in Rhode Island. I look forward to working in collaboration with many like-minded, passionate people who feel the same about our state.

Sponsored by URI College of Business • web.uri.edu/business