Night Markets – Something A Little Different

While perusing the twitterverse recently I came across a tweet from Angela Damiani (@angelasdamiani) exclaiming the $8.6M success that is Milwaukee’s Night Markets. Milwaukee basically took one of your typical vendor markets, spiced it up, and moved it to later in the evening. As the NEWaukee website proclaims, “NEWaukee’s Night Market is a free, outdoor event showcasing a variety of local Milwaukee vendors, performers and artists. Held monthly during the summer, the Night Market transforms the heart of downtown into an exciting fusion of all the city has to offer.”

Milwaukee’s Night Markets boast live music, food trucks, activities for families, and vendors peddling arts, crafts and produce. Being an upper-Midwest community, it’s not a year-round event though. The Night Markets only takes place once a month in the summer months of June, July, August, and September.

The Night Market is an idea so good that it has been spreading throughout Wisconsin.

Yes,the ability for Milwaukee to make an event like this such a success is much different than in Stockton, Kansas or Glasgow, Missouri. Most small communities don’t have food trucks or the wide selection goods sold by numerous city-based vendors to draw people in.

Get Started

But the parts to such an event are often already available. Local cover bands are often playing in small towns during fairs, annual events, and at local bars on the weekends (though quality varies). Most small towns have farmers markets or at least roadside stands. There’s often a pork producers association willing to grill out. A local grocery store or meat market may be interested in doing the same.

It’s also something that doesn’t have to be a massive affair or has to be every weekend. Actually, it’s probably better to limit the event to once a month during the summer like Milwaukee did. Interest tends to burn out on both the vendor and visitor sides with more events. Start it small and let it grow organically.

Try Try Again

Figure out what works and what doesn’t. Gauge interest from locals doing crafts or entrepreneurs looking to market their goods out of one of the available booths. Maybe the local high school band has a string ensemble that can provide a different atmosphere occasionally. Or you can even combine it with another event like a chili cook off to draw interest from those who typically attend the cook off, while providing a food source for the event.

The important thing is to try.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new”    – Albert Einstein