Queens Night Market will return April 18 with its signature multicultural cuisine at Flushing Meadows Corona Park every Saturday night through late October, marking its 11th year serving affordable foods to New Yorkers at $5-6 per dish.
The market is hosted in the 400,000-square-foot field behind the New York Hall of Science in Corona, featuring dishes that represent over 100 countries and cultures that call Queens home.
John Wang, founder of the Queens Night Market, said he and vendors are redoubling their commitment to keeping the event affordable despite tariffs and 33% inflation since the $5-6 cap was introduced, offering New Yorkers a community asset that’s accessible, uplifting and exciting.
This commitment, he said, ensures that thousands of families can enjoy an unmatched culinary and cultural experience without breaking the bank every Saturday during the season.
Countries represented at this year’s event include Myanmar, Lebanon, Panama, Argentina, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Uzbekistan, West Africa, Colombia, Romania, Hungary, Bangladesh, Haiti, Saint Lucia, Indonesia, Guyana, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Poland, Mexico, Sichuan, Tibet, Cambodia, Portugal, China, United States, Pakistan, Venezuela, El Salvador, Taiwan, Jamaica, Sierra Leone, Kazakhstan and the United States.
The event will also host plenty of art and merchandise vendors, including 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.
Queens Night Market has officially opened vendor applications for its 2026 season and has received over 300 applications so far this year.
Interested vendors must apply online by following using this link, or by emailing Vendor@QueensNightMarket.com.
A limited number of $5 tickets for two “sneak preview” events — April 18 and April 25 — will be available for purchase in March to alleviate traffic, capacity issues and any disruption to the surrounding community. Admission to all subsequent events will be free.
How the Queens Night Market began
Wang said he launched Queens Night Market in 2015 after he experienced a period of unemployment and was grappling with the idea that he would have to leave New York City because it was too expensive.
“I thought, if I was going to stay in New York City, I should think of a project that would hopefully improve it,” he said. “I woke up one day in February 2014 and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if New York had a night market?’”
After doing some research about the history of night markets and finding there were almost none in the U.S. besides Los Angeles, CA, Wang spent almost a year coordinating the first one in NYC.
The first night it opened, Wang recalled there were only 20 food vendors and 10 non-food vendors. However, it quickly became overrun with guests.
“It was just like, bigger than we ever imagined,” he said. “People saw it and realized there was a big demand for it. Everyone loved the price cap.”
Since then, the night market has welcomed roughly four million visitors, helped launch approximately 500 brand-new businesses in New York, and represented over 100 countries through its vendors and their food.
While the price cap increased from $5 to $6 in 2017, Wang said his goal is to maintain that price for “as long as humanly possible.”
How the market stays affordable
Part of what keeps the event affordable, Wang explained, is with the help of Citizens Bank, which provides a donation to reduce vendor fees.
Wang said in 2022, he was struggling to keep the food price cap without straining the local vendors that need to earn a living from their work. He eventually received a call from a Citizens representative who asked if Wang would like to partner with them for the event. “I was very excited,” Wang said.
Citizens Bank, through its Citizens Philanthropic Foundation, now pays half of the vendor fees to ensure they can keep their sale prices low, Wang explained. For the past three years, he said it’s helped the vendors and guests tremendously.
Rebecca O’Connell, NYC Metro president at Citizens, said she was happy to support the Queens Night Market, which she said was a special tradition in the community.
“Queens Night Market has grown to be a local cornerstone and the small businesses that comprise it reflect the cultural vibrancy of New York,” she said.
However, Wang noted that inflation isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so he began looking for additional sponsors last year.
When two potential sponsors pulled out at the last minute, Wang said he sent out an anonymous survey to vendors asking if they’d like to increase the cap to $7.
He said over 80% of vendors said “no.”
“It was a very moving moment,” Wang said. “It’s unheard of. They want to be part of the affordability mission and serve the community.”
According to a news release about the event, Queens Night Market has become more relevant each season not only because it helps keep food in the city affordable, but because it’s often at the intersection of numerous pressing social issues such as uncertainty in the small business landscape, social isolation, decreasing social trust and food sovereignty.
Offsetting vendor fees allows Queens Night Market to be truly accessible for New Yorkers, the news release continued, especially at a time when inflation has chipped away at spending power and dramatically altered food prices throughout the country.
Wang said he will continue to search for other companies, foundations and philanthropists to help pay down more of the vendor fees and support immigrant socioeconomic mobility, entrepreneurship and cultural harmony, as well as make NYC more affordable, livable and equitable.
Free small business seminars
Queens Night Market is also planning a series of small business seminars in partnership with the NYC Department of Small Business Services, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., Queens Economic Development Corporation and Citizens.
The free seminars, which have been hosted for the past eight years, will be led by the NYC Business Solutions Centers, operated by the SBS.
According to the news release, the seminars will cover a range of topics such as business plans, branding and marketing, operational efficiency, social media and technology, and obtaining permits.
In addition, the seminars will also cover Queens Night Market-specific topics and feature guest speakers, expert panels, networking and Q&A opportunities.
The series will be held at SBS Headquarters at 1 Liberty Plaza, in Manhattan, on Feb. 24, March 3 and March 10.
“The Queens Night Market has time and again proven to be a powerful engine for community and cultural vibrancy in New York City,” said SBS Commissioner Dynishal Gross. “As the market launches its 11th season with a dedicated commitment to affordability, SBS is proud to continue our partnership with John Wang by hosting free small business seminars that connect vendors with the resources they need to grow and succeed at the Queens Night Market and beyond.”
Wang, who is also a member of NYC’s Small Business Advisory Commission, said he never would have guessed that setting a low barrier to entry for entrepreneurs in order to create an affordable environment for visitors would lead to the launch of approximately 500 brand new businesses in NYC.
“The entrepreneurial spirit in NYC is incredible and enduring,” Wang said. “We hope aspiring makers and doers continue to find these seminars helpful, whether or not they’re looking to sell at Queens Night Market.”
Anyone interested in attending the seminars can find more details and RSVP for each session here. Light snacks and refreshments from vendors will be served, courtesy of Citizens and Queens Night Market.
BP Richards said the Queens Night Market remains one of the best activities to enjoy in the World’s Borough, bringing together a variety of foods and cultures all in one convenient place.
“I can’t wait to welcome back the incredible Queens Night Market for what will be yet another incredible year,” he said.
