Greensburg Night Market plans 3 winter dates at Live Casino Pittsburgh
Jan. 23—Fans of the Greensburg Night Market won't have to wait until spring to enjoy another installment of the popular shopping, dining and entertainment event.
The market is partnering with Live Casino Pittsburgh at Westmoreland Mall to host three winter night markets in the casino's new event space.
More than 40 vendors will be present from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday , Feb. 23 and March 24. The monthly outdoor markets on South Pennsylvania Avenue will resume April 27.
Bringing the night market to the casino was another step in the partnership between the organizations, said Jessica Hickey, founder of the market and the Downtown Greensburg Project.
The casino was among 2022 market sponsors and has collaborated on events DGP hosted during Greensburg Craft Beer Week.
"Jess does something great downtown, and we thought, 'What a great opportunity for us,' " said Dorothy Celli, the casino's food and beverage marketing manager. "We talked with her about how to bring the market indoors, and, with our new event space, we had that room.
"During the winter months, it gets a little cold and you don't want to walk through the market in negative-degree weather."
The casino ownership group has held similar events at some of its other properties, Celli noted.
"The night market idea for the casino is a concept that we have done in some of our other districts, with things like Girls Night Out, where we bring in local vendors," she said. "A major one is our Atlanta property, Live at the Battery Atlanta, where they do something very similar."
The casino markets will include longtime vendors and a few that are new for 2023, Hickey said. Among new sellers are Alpaca Key Farm of Mt. Pleasant, hGrace Confections of McKees Rocks and Bountiful Blessing Gifts of Greensburg.
"Some of the vendors have people who buy their products monthly or weekly, so it's a nice way for people to still get some of those products during the winter," Hickey said.
Visitors will have access to a floral installation from The Copper Petal and a selfie station from Moxie Events for photo opportunities.
Unlike the outdoor markets, prepared foods will not be available in the event space. Food specials will be featured at the casino's Sports & Social venue, and the PBR bar will host additional vendors.
"When we started this little market, we said, 'We'll see how it goes,'" Hickey said. "We started with 28 vendors in half a block in 2019, and we went to 115 this year in four blocks.
"It has become something that's really exciting and fun and gets a lot of buzz, and it brings people downtown, too," she said. "We did a survey at the end of the season, and we know that people are shopping at other stores and eating and drinking at other places during the market."
That was part of the point of creating the market, she said.
"Obviously, we want people to visit our vendors, but we also want people to go to the businesses that are open during the market. We know that it is making an impact downtown," she said.
Hickey noted vendor spaces are full for the winter markets, but vendor applications for the outdoor dates are available until Feb. 28 at greensburgnightmarket.com.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
