Northern Liberties Night Market expands on 2nd Street Festival tradition

A small-scale, mid-week food festival in Northern Liberties will include food trucks, live music, games and shopping.

The first Night Market will take over Second Street between Fairmount Avenue and Poplar Street on Thursday from 5-10 p.m. It is being run by the organizers of the annual 2nd Street Festival, which has been on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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The free, outdoor event will become a larger, biannual event that takes place every spring and fall starting 2022. It draws inspiration from the former Night Market series that brought food trucks to a different neighborhood each week. 

"For some time, the 2nd Street Festival had been brainstorming ways to expand from just an annual festival into a year-round series of events," said Owen Kamihira, president of the 2nd Street Festival Corp. "When the Food Trust announced the end of their popular Night Market series, 2nd Street Festival saw this as the perfect opportunity to carry the torch of a tradition many Philadelphians hold near and dear to their hearts."

The neighborhood will be lined with dozens of food trucks, vendors, sidewalk cafes, lawn games and street performers.

Participating food vendors include El Camino, Bake'n Bacon, Calle del Sabor, Moocheeze Food Truck, Pound Cake Heaven, Byzantium Empire, Philadelphia Tropical Treats, Urban Village Brewing and Haagen-Dazs.

Live entertainment from Snacktime Philly, DJ Frosty and the hip-hop dance organization Project Positive will take place throughout the night.

The 2nd Street Festival was founded in 2008 to bring more people to Northern Liberties and has grown into one of the largest annual events in the city, drawing in more than 40,000 people each year. It is typically held on the first Sunday in August. 

"When we started the 2nd Street Festival, we just wanted to celebrate our neighborhood and have fun doing it," said festival co-founder and North Bowl owner Oron Daskal. "It's amazing how much interest it draws now and how much life it brings to Second Street."

Proceeds from the event will support The Northern Liberties Business Improvement District and the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association.

Masks will be required at all times, except when eating or drinking in designated areas of the event footprint.

Northern Liberties Night Market