Lively music, shrimp tacos and the bustle of locals and their dogs set the scene for the beloved Raleigh Night Market. Since the market’s commencement in 2018, the Raleigh community has enjoyed gathering for live music, good food and the many vendors that set up camp on cobblestone.

This open air market is nestled between quaint restaurants on both sides of Parham Street in the heart of downtown. It usually takes place about one Wednesday each month, 5-9 p.m. This month, the market hosted 45 local artists and five food trucks, not to mention the live music, lawn games and drinks available at the Historic City Market. The food truck cuisine varies, from Mexican street food to Hawaiian shaved ice. 

The event attracts a diverse crowd, including people who came for the party, as well as families out for some good food and fun games. The vendors cater to the diverse crowd as well, with local artists selling goods ranging from jewelry and terrariums to cookies and hot sauce. 

The local vendors have nothing but positive feedback for the event and evidently enjoy the night as much as the market goers do. 

Tracy Hamilton, owner of The Sassy Daisy, has taken her company on the road and now uses markets such as the Raleigh Night Market as her primary method of reaching customers, aside from her online shop.

“I specialize in home decor that can be personalized or customized, also personal accessories. I make a lot of what I sell,” Hamilton said. “I love to be creative, and this is my outlet. I’ve wanted to sell my crafts for a very long time, so about a year and a half ago I opened up a shop, and I went full time in January. I found out about [the Raleigh Night Market] through a Facebook group. I went to their website and now I’ve been with them since last spring.”

The trend of vendor retention is strong enough to compliment the founder, Sara Buxton, on the community and environment they have cultivated. 

“Sara really goes above and beyond to hire security and make sure that I really feel valued and taken care of,” said Izze Hall, co-owner of Garden and Gather. “I pretty much do every market with her that I can … and it’s always a really good crowd.”

Aside from teaching classes in terrarium building, Hall said she averages around 10 markets per month during the busy season. Even so, she still considers the night market to be a favorite of hers. 

“I’ve had [my company] for about a year, and I sell terrariums that feature a lot of native plants as well as repurposed glassware,” Hall said. “A lot of vintage, antique, thrifted. And then my wife does all of the art. The nice thing about doing my own thing is that I get to support a lot of local businesses. I’ll support local antique stores, but I also go to a lot of local nurseries and I’ll buy my plants that way.”

Support seems to be the Night Market Co.’s enduring theme. With the co-founders looking out for vendors and the vendors looking out for other local businesses, the Night Market Co. embodies their philosophy of cultivating open and inclusive markets throughout the Triangle community.

With great food, upbeat music and unique vendors all throughout, the market is a must for anyone in search of local color in Raleigh. Their regularly scheduled night markets will be back on April 5 and May 3, and in the meantime, they will be hosting an Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday, March 26. Make sure to keep the Raleigh Night Market on your radar to liven up your future Wednesday nights.