Apr. 18, 2023 By Carlotta Mohamed
The Queens Night Market officially kicked off its eighth season with Mayor Eric Adams at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Saturday, April 15.
Attendees included Commissioner of Small Business Services Kevin Kim, Councilman Shekar Krishnan, and NYC Department of Parks and Recreation Commissioner Sue Donoghue.
Mayor Eric Adams attends the Queens Night Market’s opening night celebration at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Saturday, April 15. (Photo by Brian Bills)
Approximately 7,300 people attended the opening night, the first of two ticketed sneak preview nights, to help alleviate traffic and capacity issues. The next limited-entry sneak preview event will take place on Saturday, April 22, before it opens up to the public and becomes free to attend starting Saturday, April 29.
(Photo by Brian Bills)
John Wang, founder of the Queens Night Market, said he is tremendously excited about kicking off the venue’s eighth season.
“It was an incredible sneak preview in so many ways. We managed to narrowly escape the inclement weather that had been forecast. And even though we admitted less than half the people we normally see by ticketing, it sure felt busy … people really, really wanted to eat and support the vendors,” Wang said. “Even the mayor got into the spirit of things and busted out some moves with the kids on the dance floor.”
(Photo by Brian Bills)
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 major support from Citizens, the popular $5/$6 price cap on all food items remains in place, while reducing all vendor fees for food and merchandise vendors for the entire season to the lowest it has ever been.
(Photo by Brian Bills)
The curatorial mission of the Queens Night Market is to feature traditional foods that may be hard to find in NYC, made by the people who grew up eating them. The event also hosts plenty of art/merchandise vendors and live performances.
For more information on vendors and performers, click here.