The Guelph Night Market: an immense success

After a smoking bus incident and a quick dinner downtown Guelph, my friend and I headed over to the main event of the night: The Guelph Night Market, an exhibition of local vendors selling various unique items. Neither of us had heard of it prior to that day nor had any idea of what to expect, and it seemed we weren’t the only ones, as we overheard the girls in line before us wondering about what there could possibly be inside. We stood in that line for an hour as a result of the crowd the event drew. Curiosity, excitement, and anticipation gnawed at our guts and those of the many others taking up our tail in the rain. The Night Market was organized entirely by Theresa Mullin and Emily Colley. The two collaborated after attending previous market events, and finding that these events made it difficult for local vendors to participate. With that in mind, they decided to host their very own market to support their fellow local vendors and artists. Upon entry, we found ourselves in a dimly lit room, fairly large but too small for the amount of people stuffing themselves from booth to booth. There was a bar off to the left, music overhead, and all the vendors with their goods lining the walls, some also lining down the middle. The atmosphere was warm, comfortable, and filled with enthusiasm. The people were welcoming and brimming with creativity.

The goods ranged from used and vintage clothing to an immense variety of prints (including prints made by antique letterpress from All Sorts Press), homemade herbal honeys, zines, jewelry, baked yummies made from scratch, and much more. Ashton Koloszar, from The Gempire, was selling gemstones and crystals he mined himself across Ontario. Another vendor, Gabriel Parniak, had carved into a skull and defined the markings with granite powder transforming it into a very original decoration. No matter where you turned, you were certain to see something that you would be able to find nowhere else. Everything was handmade, homemade, or repurposed. Quality, originality, and enthusiastic social vendors were guaranteed. Not only was it a fantastic experience for shoppers, the vendors themselves had a great time browsing each other’s products, interacting, and as Nigel Brown put it, “I’m making new friends today, meeting new people.” They all got a chance to build great connections with each other.

Many of them had only recently opened up shops in the area, some, not unlike the woman selling her delicious mini cupcakes, were working their way towards having their own spaces, and others like Rigel Rozanski, provided the public with cassette tapes, art, and zines from home base and online.

When the market came to a close, non-perishable food donations that could be given upon entrance alongside the $2 admission fee were donated to the Abbeyfield Drop-In Center. Edward Pickersgill, president of this organization and “gate keeper” of the building in which the Night Market took place noted that they have “never had this many people in the building.” Mullin and Colley were “overwhelmed with the turnout” and many of the vendors echoed the fact that no one expected it to be as jam-packed as it was. Vendor after vendor had run out of business cards and had completely sold out their products.

All those whom I asked said that if the event were to repeat itself next year, they would love to take part in it again. When asked if they were planning on making the Night Market an annual event, the organizers said that they had not yet discussed it, but considering how successful this first time was, it is a possibility. Let us hope that this possibility becomes a reality.