The city of Santa Clara hosted a night market on Friday and Saturday, offering cultural foods, vintage clothing, live entertainment and more as a way of celebrating the diversity and history of Santa Clara.
The market took place west of Lafayette St., between Benton St. and Homestead Rd, approximately four miles northwest of San José State University. It was organized into different sections, including vintage vendors, food trucks, retail marketplace and a stage for live performances.
The scheduled live performances throughout both days of the market included Tristan Tumacder, Hola Bachata, Orquesta Salón, Losrakas and more.
The city of Santa Clara worked with Santa Clara Parks and Recreation, Moveable Feast, SJMade and Discover Santa Clara to create the event.
Attendees could buy Y2K Coach bags, sushi tacos and enjoy live music all in one place.
The vintage vendor section consisted of sellers who had acquired clothing by scavenging second-hand bins or trading with other vendors, having a wide range of clothes available for customers.
Emily Alvarado, a vintage apparel vendor at the market, said her expected revenue from the event was around $2000.
“I’ve been selling for over a year now … I sell vintage tops, skirts, dresses,” Alvarado said. “I go to (the) Goodwill bins for clothes.”
A small soccer field for children to play was located in the middle of the section reserved for vintage vendors. It was lined with seats for attendees to sit, chat and eat their purchased foods.
The retail marketplace section of the event hosted more than 100 local small businesses, artists and artisans, each offering unique items for attendees to browse and purchase.
Gordon Pai, a vendor with his small business, Forge Panda, said that with the help of his wife and cousin, preparing for markets takes weeks at a time.
“I’m just happy to be here,” Pai said. “I like attending these events because you meet a lot of people and all the vendors are really friendly.”
Forge Panda is a small business that sells handmade fidget toys, keycaps, keychains and diorama lamps, according to its official website.
Other vendors at the market, such as annafloof.png, Squishy’s Studio and Daisylicious Cakes,displayed handmade magnets, original earrings, Mexican-styled backpacks, personally embroidered hats, different species of plants and more.
Although the retail vendors made up most of the market, the diverse range of food trucks and booths including Cupcakes for College, Mekeni’s Kitchen and pineappleWHIPS, posed as strong competition for people’s attention at the event
Food options consisted of bourbon pork belly smoked burnt ends, Filipino street food, sushi tacos and more.
Brianna Poston, a Santa Clara local and attendee, said she went to the market in search of clothing and items for her cat.
“I got cat treats and a skirt so far, I did not expect all the vintage things,” Poston said. “Usually, the clothes are kind of, like, print order type, but this is actual vintage stuff and I like it.”
The biggest problem among attendees was finding a way to carry homemade brown butter cookies and a new wardrobe.
“This is a dope place to be honest, this is the first time they’ve done a market in this actual area,” Poston said. “ To me, it’s just supporting locals and I think we need more of this.”
