The Queens Night Market is returning to Flushing Meadows Corona Park for its fall season on Saturday, Sept. 17.
The event will operate every Saturday night from 5 p.m. to midnight through Oct. 29, when the season concludes with the usual Halloween-themed event, complete with trick-or-treating and costume contests. Since it debuted in 2015, the Queens Night Market has welcomed approximately 2 million visitors, helped approximately 350 brand-new businesses in New York City, and represented over 90 countries through its vendors and their food.
This year has been the event’s busiest year so far, averaging over 20,000 visitors per night. Vendors have been setting and breaking their own sales records, despite the $5 and $6 price cap on food that remains in place.
“I’m constantly experiencing sticker shock when eating out in NYC lately,” said John Wang, founder of Queens Night Market. “Sometimes the price increases seem excessive, even in light of current inflation and labor shortages. I know the price caps we impose on vendors are challenging for them, especially these days, but that’s also why we haven’t raised vendor fees in two years and why we continue to pass along any and all of our operational savings directly to them. If it’s not affordable for the vendors, it’s certainly not going to be affordable for the visitors.”
Some of the newer entries this season and starting this fall include Brazilian churrasco; Portuguese bifana; Malaysian roti jala; Thai boiled whelk; Trinidadian curry crab and dumplings; Mexican picaditas; and Ethiopian sega wat.
The fall season will also feature many returning favorites, including Hakka meatballs; Belizean panades and garnaches; Sichuan ice jelly; Antiguan ducana; black pudding; Burmese palatas and tea leaf salad; Indonesian kue pancong and tahu pong; Peruvian ceviche and arroz chaufa; Persian crispy rice; and more.
For the fifth time running, the Queens Night Market will produce pro bono the Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park’s gala fundraiser, an Evening Under the Sphere, on Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Entertainment at the gala will include tunes mixed by DJ Rekha, jazz and other live acts.
“The Queens Night Market has called Flushing Meadows Corona Park home since we launched back in 2015,” said Wang, who is also an Alliance board member. “It’s been an honor and privilege to help plan, curate and execute the Alliance’s annual fundraiser under the glow of the Unisphere since the tradition began in 2017. Huge thanks to all the generous vendors and in-kind sponsors who make the event so unique, so much fun, and so Queens.”
All proceeds directly support public programming and maintenance in the park. For $50, ticket holders can enjoy unlimited made-to-order food, courtesy of the following Queens Night Market vendors and sponsors:
- Hong Kong Street Food serving pan-fried noodles
- Bstro serving Taiwanese popcorn chicken
- Chick’n Rotonda serving Filipino sliders
- DiLena’s Dolcini serving Italian desserts
- Treat Yourself Jerk Chicken serving Jamaican fare
- Chop Chop Tea serving Hakka cuisine
- Mao’s Bao serving dumplings
- Sholay serving Indian barbecue
- Arepalicious serving Colombian food
- Bengali Street Eats serving biryani
- Emeye serving Ethiopian cuisine
- La Braza serving Ecuadorian food
Beer and wine are being generously supplied by EBBS Brewing Co. (with locations at Citi Field and Williamsburg) and Monsieur Touton Wine.
To purchase tickets, click here.
