Thursday nights are about to liven up in downtown Nanaimo this summer.
Starting tonight, June 21, the first Nanaimo Commercial Street Night Market opens for business.
Commercial Street from Terminal Avenue to Church and Chapel streets will be closed to vehicle traffic so artisan vendor booths, crafters, food producers and downtown merchants can line the streets selling everything from food to crafts to curios.
Live entertainment will be happening at several locations downtown and family activities such as bouncy castles and climbing walls will add to the fun.
“Most of the [downtown] merchants, if not all, are planning to be open now for the market, which was a commitment that we didn’t have two months ago and everybody down here is getting super excited about it … it’s brought a better mood to downtown, in general, which is pretty interesting to watch,” said Kim Smythe, Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer.
Anyone coming downtown tonight should show up hungry and plan on dinner at the food truck circle set up in Diana Krall Plaza or check out what’s on the menu in downtown’s restaurants.
After dinner, market-goers can check out downtown community creativity with a self-guided arts and culture walk.
“We have about a dozen outlets … all committing to staying open and we’re mapping out a self-guided arts and culture crawl,” Smythe said. “It’s part of the night market.”
Expect a mix of street artists with several acts booked each night throughout the summer, starting with Akron the Barbarian, a street performer up from Victoria, whom Smythe describes as having a somewhat lively and colourful act that involves a unicycle, machete-juggling and fire.
Live music acts will be a regular feature of the Thursday night markets, too.
“We’ll probably do something like six acts a night,” Smythe said. “So it will be a mixture of 30-minute and 60-minute sets.”
Most of the music performances will happen in Diana Krall Plaza along with alcohol tasting, where people can sample products from local distillers, brewers and vintners that will join at least 75 vendors expected to turn out weekly.
The Thursday night festivities continue until Aug. 30 and booths and festivities will be open 5-9 p.m.
Traffic and parking will be prohibited from Commercial, Skinner and Wharf streets and Museum Way 2-10 p.m., but free parking will be available.For details about each night market and free parking or for those interested in becoming a vendor, entertainer or joining the food truck circle, visit the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce website at https://nanaimochamber.bc.ca/.
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