FELLS POINT, Md. — The Thames Street parking lot in Fells Point will transform into a bustling night market this weekend, bringing together 40 vendors offering food and entertainment inspired by Taiwanese culture.
Ekiben, the Baltimore-based restaurant, is hosting its second annual night market, expanding from last year's event near their Hampden location. The market features vendors from Baltimore, Washington D.C., and New York.
Watch as organizers prepare for the night market
"So I'm from Taiwan and Taiwan is famous for its night markets. It's a bunch of incredible street vendors concentrated together with thousands and thousands of people, artists, great food, great energy, and really night markets are an incredible way for the community to come together to celebrate one of the greatest things that brings community together," Steve Chu said.
Chu, co-founder and head chef of Ekiben, said this year's market is bigger than before with more vendors joining from across the region.
"What makes this year different is we have even more vendors, and these vendors are coming from New York, DC, and they're all of our great friends," Chu said.
The restaurant is also debuting a new dish exclusively for the night market - a crab Rangoon egg roll that can only be purchased at the event.
Chu believes the timing is perfect for community events like the night market, citing Baltimore's recent improvements.
"Baltimore is in the middle of the renaissance. On the come up, crime has gone down. Murders have gone down, which is absolutely incredible, and you can see with the ticket sales people wanting to come into the city to celebrate a night like this with all of us," Chu said.
For Chu, the event represents an opportunity to share his cultural heritage with Baltimore.
"I'm excited to bring my culture's energy to Baltimore and the city that loves us, the city that we love, and this is just our way of giving back," Chu said.
Click here for information and tickets for the night market.
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