First Annual Night Market
The first annual Queen Mary Night Market made its debut on Friday night with a view of the Long Beach skyline and an array of musical performances, popular food trucks and vendors.
The Queen Mary states it designed this event to be “an outdoor celebration of SoCal’s diverse food and art scene.”
The event opened its doors at 6 p.m. at the Queen Mary Events Park and allowed attendees to shop and eat under an abundance of string lights and the setting sun.
Tickets sold for $7 and were available for purchase at the gate of the event or beforehand from the Queen Mary website where one could access it from a mobile phone.
Vendors included local businesses like Discount Cemetery, Heart and Sol Designs, Sabrina’s Boutique, CNC Costumes and more with products from horror movie inspired t-shirts to handcrafted tutus.
Hand made items were also for sale by the artists, some of which included pins, stickers and patches. Photo credit: Bryanna Mejia
The event included an eclectic range of over 15 food trucks and vendors, so attendees could choose between sweet and salty kettle corn, tender smoked barbecue or even savory Puerto-Rican pollo sandwiches.
Attendees 21 years or older could pay an extra $18 to participate in a beer tasting that featured mostly craft beers like those from Alpine Brewing Co., which has a home brewery and pub in Alpine, California.
Manuel the Band, a local band, performed covers of popular alternative-rock songs throughout the night from bands like Kings of Leon and The Killers.
In between songs played by the band, DJ Akasa would mix through R&B and hip-hop tunes.
Families, couples and friends sat on picnic tables under trees to eat or catch up, while other attendees watched the band perform or browsed the merchandise.
“It’s enjoyable. It’s like a very nice group of people. It seems like they all came to have a good time and that they’re interested in seeing the products,” said attendee and vendor Vangelia Griffin-Hardie, co-owner of CNC Costumes.
Parking could be found in the lots for the Queen Mary off Queen’s Highway and, although not advertised, would cost attendees $10 upon exiting the area.
