The popular Queens Night Market will return for its eighth season to the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Saturday nights, beginning April 15.
Over its first seven seasons, the Queens Night Market has welcomed over 2 million visitors, helped launch approximately 350 brand-new businesses in New York, and represented over 90 countries through its vendors and their food. In 2022, the event averaged over 15,000 attendees each Saturday night.
Thanks to a major sponsorship from Citizens, the popular $5/$6 price cap on all food items will remain in place this year. Additionally, the event is significantly reducing all vendor fees for food and merchandise vendors for the entire season.
“With so many food events happening throughout this city at any given time, it’s probably hard to differentiate one from another. But we still believe that affordability is the single greatest equalizer, which is why we’ve been obsessively focused on it from day one,” said John Wang, founder of Queens Night Market. “With the cost inflation that food vendors are facing, the only way we were able to economically justify not raising the price cap this year is because Citizens stepped up to the plate in a big, big way, subsidizing the fees vendors would normally pay. We’re incredibly, ineffably grateful for the support.”
Nuno Dos Santos, retail banking director at Citizens, said the partnership between Queens Night Market and Citizens will “make this the best year yet by ensuring access and affordability for vendors and guests alike.”
“As part of the Queens community, Citizens is proud to support small businesses, our neighbors and visitors, all of whom have made the Queens Night Market a symbol of resilience and growth in New York,” Santos said.
As with the last several years, Queens Night Market will sell a limited number of tickets for two “sneak preview” events (April 15 and April 22) to alleviate traffic, capacity issues and any disruption to the surrounding community. This strategy has been very effective in addressing these concerns, which emerged on opening night of the first two years.
Admission to all subsequent events will be free. Sneak preview tickets will be available for purchase starting in March.
2023 vendors and vendor application:
The Queens Night Market has officially opened vendor applications for its 2023 season and has received approximately 300 applications so far this year.
This season will feature Burmese palatas, Turkish gözleme, Ethiopian sega wat and chechebsa, Singaporean mee pok and chai tow kway, Peruvian ceviche and arroz chaufa, Trinidadian curry crab and dumplings and shark sandwiches, and many more cuisines from around the globe.
The event also hosts plenty of art and merchandise vendors. The season will include vintage apparel, hand-poured candles, travel photography, crochet toys, stationery, small-batch soap, henna, vintage brooches and ads, international handcrafts, NYC-themed apparel, gourmet dog treats, handmade jewelry, ceramics and local art.
Interested vendors should apply online at https://bit.ly/2023-QNM-Vendor, or direct questions to vendor@queensnightmarket.com.
Additionally, Queens Night Market is planning a series of small business seminars for the sixth year in partnership with Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., the Queens Economic Development Corporation and Citizens.
The seminars will cover a range of topics such as business plans, branding and marketing, operational efficiency, social media and technology, and obtaining permits. The seminars will also cover Queens Night Market-specific topics and feature guest speakers, expert panels, networking and Q&A opportunities.
The seminars to be held next month will be hybrid in-person and virtual at attendees’ discretion with links to follow shortly.
“I’m so pleased we are once again working with the Queens Night Market and our other outstanding partners to hold these informative small business seminars,” Richards said. “Small businesses across Queens experienced historic setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic aftershocks, and it is critical that we give our small business owners the opportunity to network and learn the skills needed to grow their businesses. I look forward to these upcoming seminars and the return of the Queens Night Market, an amazing attraction that will open for the season in April.”
