The Sunnyside Night Market is set to return for a second year next month, bringing together up to 40 local vendors and transforming Lowery Plaza beneath the elevated 7 train into a vibrant community space.
The night marketed, which debuted in Sunnyside last October, will take place from 4 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 21, featuring a variety of food, drink and craft vendors. This year’s event will also be paired with Sunnyside’s Hispanic Heritage Celebration, with a number of cultural performances also scheduled to take place at 40thSt-Lowery Plaza while the market is ongoing.
Performances from Colombian artist Ricardo Esteban, Mexican folkloric dance group Manhatitlan, Ecuadorian dance troupe Allpayana and Puerto Rican cultural organization Cultura Pa’lante will take place on a specially-constructed stage placed near the market stalls.
The event is organized by the Sunnyside Shines Business Improvement District (BID), which has received permission to host several night markets in the neighborhood over the next two years.
Sunnyside Shines Executive Director Dirk McCall de Palomá said the BID may host one more night market before the end of the year, depending on the weather this fall. The BID will also host a Christmas night market at a date yet to be determined.
The September night market, meanwhile, will celebrate Sunnyside’s cultural diversity with food and goods from nations represented in the vibrant neighborhood.
McCall de Palomá said around 35 vendors have already signed up for the event, adding that last year’s inaugural night market featured a broad selection of food and goods, from funneSl cakes to empanadas.
He added that a number of community groups will be on hand to provide information and resources to visitors at the Sept. 21 event, adding that local businesses are also excited about the market because it will bring increased foot traffic to businesses throughout Sunnyside.
“It brings more people out to shop in Sunnyside and they stop at some of the local brick and mortar stores afterwards,” McCall de Palomá said.
He also encouraged brick-and-mortar stores throughout Sunnyside to consider setting up a stall in the market so they can “get a little extra attention.”
McCall de Palomá described the inaugural Sunnyside Night Market as a roaring success and said last year’s event helped to activate an underutilized public space beneath the 7 tracks.
“It was wonderful,” he said. “But this year is to get people excited about Sunnyside while also celebrating Hispanic Heritage.
Sunnyside Shines typically celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, with a series of events celebrating individual nations and cultures throughout Latin America. The BID decided to fold those individual events into a “huge celebration” for 2025, McCall de Palomá said.
He added that the BID later decided to combine the Hispanic Heritage celebration with the returning night market to fully activate Lowery Plaza.
“We decided that this was a good chance to get a stage and really activate the space and make it even more exciting and more welcoming to people,” he said. “Basically, we wanted to make sure that we celebrate all the different cultural heritages of Sunnyside.”
