Northern Liberties Night Market Featuring Musical Guests, Food, and More to Host Spring Celebration

The organizers of 2nd Street Festival announce the first-ever spring edition of the new Northern Liberties Night Market Series. This inaugural series of outdoor food festivals is rolling into the single fastest growing neighborhood in Philadelphia on Thursday, May 26th, from 5:00pm to 10:00pm, on N. 2nd Street between Fairmount and Poplar streets. This new event will take place every spring and fall and is a pivot and expansion by the operators of the city's 2nd Street Festival, which returns this summer after a pandemic break. For this pop-up food festival, look for dozens of food trucks, food vendors, shopping vendors, sidewalk cafes, entertainment, music, street performers, and other fun surprises. The festival is free to attend and food/drink are pay-as-you-go. For information, visit www.northernlibertiesnightmarket.com

"We are thrilled to bring these new open-air food festivals to our neighborhood in Northern Liberties," said President of 2nd Street Festival Corp. Owen Kamihira (also of El Camino Real). "For some time, the 2nd St Festival had been brainstorming ways to expand from just an annual festival into a year-round series of events. When the Food Trust announced the end of their popular Night Market series, 2nd St Festival saw this as the perfect opportunity to carry the torch of a tradition many Philadelphians hold near and dear to their hearts. That event was always designed to help set-up neighborhoods for success as the event continued to pop-up around the city, with the Mt. Airy Street Fare as a great example of the Food Trust's work in that area. We originally intended to launch something new in spring of 2020, but COVID had other plans. After two years on hiatus, 2nd St Festival is bursting at the seams to bring people back to Northern Liberties for fun and festivities. We can't wait to get back out there! The fall event got a little wet with the rain but we had a terrific response and we are thrilled to head into warm weather season with an amazing line-up of food trucks and mobile vendors."

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

Following the first test event in fall, Northern Liberties Night Market returns in both spring and fall in 2022. The region's top food trucks will roll into the red-hot dining district of Northern Liberties and set-up in and around local pop-ups from area restaurants and bars. Look for 50 vendors in total, including food trucks, food tents, food and shopping vendors. This event will take over several blocks in the area around N. 2nd Street between Fairmount and Popular streets. The final list of vendors for this year include the following merchants:

FOOD

* A Taste of Philly - Cheesesteaks, burgers, fries, mozzarella sticks and fried Oreos

* Bake'n Bacon - Gourmet sandwiches where bacon is the star; also available with grilled chicken and smoked brisket, for the non-bacon eaters and the bold who savor all three meats

* Brood Coffee Truck - specialty coffee drinks and fresh made pastries

* Byz.Empire - Delicious American eats influenced by Mediterranean and Latin traditions

* Calle del Sabor - Variety of Caribbean & Latin dishes...burritos, tacos, jerk chicken and pork

* Chank's Grab n' Go - Pizza cones - pizza made portable

* Dr. Brownies - Plant based brownie company that specializes in all things brownies. From brownie pie's to brownie 'bruhnut' we are plant based brownie aficionados changing the game in Philadelphia for all sweet tooths and foodies

* Dr. Wutzit's Wonder Balls - Delicious, handmade, savory Balls like Lobster Mac 'n Cheese Balls, Buffalo Chicken Balls, Cheesesteak Balls, and Arancini.

* Haagen Dazs - The FIRST and ONLY Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream Truck in the country

* Hello Vietnam - Northern Liberties based restaurant serving up Bahn Mis and Vietnamese coffee to go during this event

* Korea Taqueria - A blend of Korean and Mexican, specializing in rich Korean-fusion tacos that you've never experienced before

* Li Ping Corn Company - fresh and sweet Hot Roasted Corn on the Cob

* Moocheeze Food Truck - Gourmet fried Mac and cheese balls, melts and fries

* Moshava - Israeli inspired street food

* Papermill Foods - Home of the Spurrito, inspired by the vibrant flavors of South-East Asia and a touch of influence from Aussie beach culture

* Philly Nuts - Using the finest ingredients, sourcing the highest quality nuts from the US and abroad, each flavor blend is carefully hand-crafted

* Piccola Italia - Authentic Italian street food

* Rita's Italian Ice - Italian ice, frozen custard, and specialty creations

* Taqueria Dos Hermanos - Mexican food (tacos ,quesadillas and burritos)

* The Little Sicilian - Aracini rice balls in all different savory flavors

* The Munchy Machine - inventive sandwiches, snacks and desserts, as well as a few surprises to keep the gang on its toes.

* VeganMe Please - Vegan comfort food

* WokWorks - Modern asian street food with organic noodles and rice bowls

DRINK

* Bourbon and Branch - cocktails

* El Camino - Margaritas, frozen or on the rocks in a variety of flavors, plus Vice Night Punch (vodka, lemon, jalapeno hibiscus syrup, watermelon) and Mexi Mai Tais (Bacardi rum, Cazadores Blanco, Blue Curacao, orgeat, pineapple, lime)

* Spuntino - beer and wine

* Standard Tap - cocktails

* Urban Village - Selection of ice-cold Northern Liberties made beers

MAKERS & MERCHANTS

* After Oak - Small batch jewelry brand, creating unique pieces of jewelry and art in collaboration with nature

* ArtbyAlicia - Stickers, greeting cards, prints, and posters with hand-drawn designs of Philadelphia staples and landmarks

* CONNECT360 - Handmade Kenyan jewelry and fashions

* Contemporary Works - Colorful, eco-friendly planters, trays, coasters, and other home decor

* Dan Does That - Laser engraved art and unique home décor

* De' Vora - Pet products

* Elektra Vintage - Vintage clothing, accessories and wares

* Lily Lough Jewelry - Handmade jewelry

* Little Brown Box - Modern jewelry for women

* Maker Missya - Creative bold colored cement planters and home goods

* Messin' with Resin - Handmade resin art

* Ocean Girl Gifts - Beach themed jewelry and ceramic ornaments

* Pretty Nerdy Crafts - Handmade home decor and crafts - Horror, Sci-fi, Goth, Punk Rock, Pop Culture and more!

* Ray's Reusables - Bulk household staples for sustainable refilling

* RonDee Productions - Handmade puppets called RONSTERS and other puppet related merchandise

* S H Candles - Hand poured scented soy candles, diffusers and other home good accessories

* SCB Naturals - Handmade vegan, organic and eco friendly soap and wellness products.

* Shady Sunglass Deals - Sunglasses and tie-dyed t-shirts

* Snug Baby - Small batch, highly pigmented nail polish and creative ephemera

* Spaltline Woodworking - Unique puzzles and clocks out of spalted wood (pigmented by fungi)

* Terraintextures - Handmade jewelry containing locally foraged mushrooms, ferns and foliage

* Unleashed by Petco - Pet products

* Yardsale Press - Hand-cut and screen printed wooden drink coasters, pins and tote bags

For some vendors, this is their first major time back on the road and at this type of festival since the pandemic. The event will support our region's thriving food truck and mobile food vendor economy that was devastating to the industry, all while showcasing the red-hot food neighborhood of Northern Liberties. In the next one to two years, this is the fastest growing neighborhood in the entire city by the numbers, with up to 23,000 people set to move into apartments and new projects about to open or that are well-underway for construction. The population boom has also brought a restaurant boom. The three neighborhood pioneers behind the festival are thrilled and wanted to keep up the energy when their larger festival was on pause.

Entertainment will DJ Frost and family fun, other music and more! Project Positive Dance Troupe will provide street performers that will flip, twist and turn their way during open-air performances throughout the night. DJ Frosty will drop the tunes.

This Night Market series is not affiliated with the Food Trust and is an independent production of 2nd St Festival. The Night Market series was and has always been a series of pop-up food festivals designed to bring attention and awareness to different parts of the city, with the hopes of leaving neighborhoods with a sustainable event after it moves on. This new event was designed with that idea in mind to bolster a new and regular series of events - especially when the classic Night Market events are on pause.

The festival is free to attend, and pay-as-you-go for food and drink. Bring the kiddos and the pups, as this event is fully family friendly!

Save the date for the 2nd Street Festival on Sunday, August 7th and Northern Liberties Night Market fall edition on Thursday, September 22nd.

For more info visit www.northernlibertiesnightmarket.com.

ABOUT 2ND STREET FESTIVAL

Founded in 2008 by Northern Liberties business owners, Owen Kamihira of El Camino Real, William Reed of Standard Tap and Oron Daskal of North Bowl, the 2nd St Festival was established with the goal of bringing people to Northern Liberties in a fun and engaging way.

Since inception, the festival has grown into one of the City's largest annual events, spanning several blocks and drawing upwards of 40,000 people.

In addition to drawing visitors into the neighborhood, 2nd St Festival also raises money to support programming for two established neighborhood civic organizations, The Northern Liberties Business Improvement District and the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association.

For more info visit www.2ndstfestival.org.

Photo Credits: Kory Aversa

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