In 2015, John Wang left the state of his native Texas, and headed out to Queens with the ambitious goal of opening the first ever night market in New York City. Three years later, the Queens International Night Market features over 50 food & art vendors combined, a beer garden and also invites multiple performers each Saturday to the back lot of the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Park.
"First and foremost, I wanted to create a beloved and welcoming cultural event - a community that prioritized affordability and inclusivity. I wanted to really leverage and celebrate what I thought was one of Queens' and NYC's greatest assets: its unparalled diversit." says Wang.
Following John and his very early days with the Queens Night Market starting at the small parking lot at the the New York Hall of Science, I was super impressed and proud to see how far he has come with this simple yet awesome idea. On a good weather day, the Night Market easily attracts over 8,000 diverse visitors a night, and has become one of Queens' top summer attractions, and with a pretty reasonable price tags for ANY food item on sale, you cannot go wrong.
If you had to attend only one Queens event that captured the true essence of Queens' international flavor, the Queens Night Market which has featured over 130 food vendors in over 60 different countries, is the one to attend this summer.
Go to queensnightmarket.com now for more details.
words and photo by Adolfo Steve Vazquez