Three things to know about Appleton's new Light the Night Market

Alexandria Bursiek Kloehn, Appleton Post-Crescent
Updated ·3 min read

APPLETON – On May 19, street performers, food trucks and live musicians will gather downtown for a new event — Light the Night Market.

The event, which is being put on by Appleton Downtown Inc., is inspired by Bazaar After Dark, a night-event previously hosted by the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce. Bazaar After Dark was known for having around 100 vendors and unique live performers including fire dancers. Last year, Bazaar After Dark was held in New London.

Jennifer Stephany, ADI's executive director, said when she learned that the Fox Cities Chamber did not plan to bring back the event this year, it made sense for ADI to plan their own version.

"It's a cool thing," Stephany said about the Light the Night Market. "It has an element of edginess."

Stephany said the event will include a lot of the whimsical elements that Bazaar was known for but she said the event will have it's own unique elements as well. For example, the event will also include community representation though partnership with the Northeast Wisconsin Chinese Association (NEWCA), indUS of the Fox Valley, and the Hmong American Partnership.

Want more details? Below is everything you need to know about the Light the Night Market.

Where will it be and how long will it run?

The event will take place on College Avenue between Superior Street and Morrison Street. There will also be performances in Houdini Plaza. Other than purchases from vendors, the event is free to the public.

The market will start at 5:30 p.m. and run until 9:30 p.m.

What is there to do?

There will be live musicians and entertainment performing in Houdini Plaza and in music tents on College Avenue through a partnership with Mile of Music, including the Wisconsin-based band The Astronomers. Other listed performers include The Lavender Project, Adam Lee Acoustic and Lilie Fouts. According to the ADI website, more entertainers will be announced soon.

There are a number of other entertainers performing throughout the event, including:

If you are more interested in hands-on activities, a few local business will be at the event. Appleton Axe will have an axe-throwing mobile trailer and yard games, HobbyTown Appleton is providing an RC Track and Hazelmade Art Studio will have art projects available.

There will also be a number of vendors selling everything from crafts to henna tattoos. A complete list of the current vendors can be found here.

What are the food options?

According to the ADI website, there will be five food trucks at the event and six food booths from restaurants downtown. However, the list is subject to change.

The food trucks available at the market include:

The restaurants that will have food booths include:

More Information about Light The Night Market can be found on the Appleton Downtown Inc. website at appletondowntown.org/light-the-night-market/.

Alexandria Bursiek Kloehn is a business reporter for the Appleton Post-Crescent. You can reach her at abursiekkloehn@gannett.com or view her Twitter profile at @bursiekkloehn.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Three things to know about Appleton's new Light the Night Market