This April 13th the Queens Night Market returns at the Hall of Science in Flushing,.
The Queens Night Market is returning for its ninth season, stating Saturday April 13th, with a major sponsorship from Citizens. The sponsorship enables the Queens Night Market to keep its popular $5-$6 price cap on all food items and will keep vendor fees for food and merchandise vendors at last year’s discounted rate.
The Queens Night Market vendor applications are open for the 2024 season and seminars for small business are being offered in partnership with the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., Queens Economic Development Corporation, and Citizens in both Queens and Brooklyn.
The small business seminar flyer and press release are attached, with the press release also pasted below. Please let us know if you would like to speak with John Wang from the Queens Night Market or someone from the Citizens team.
Major Sponsorship from Citizens Helps Maintain Popular Price Cap and Reduces Vendor Fees; Other Changes & Improvements; Free Small Business Seminars
Highlights:
- Citizens sponsorship enables Queens Night Market to keep the popular $5/$6 price cap on all food items by offsetting vendor fees
- Queens Night Market is producing a series of free small business seminars for the seventh year in partnership with Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Queens Economic Development Corporation, the NYC Department of Small Business Services, and Citizens. The series will expand to Brooklyn this year and include live translation in Spanish and Mandarin for all sessions.
- Queens Night Market will expand operating hours to further support vendors and expand footprint to introduce more vendors and reduce lines.
The Queens Night Market will return for its ninth season to the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Saturday nights, starting April 13th, 2024.
Over its first eight seasons, the Queens Night Market has welcomed nearly three million visitors, helped launch nearly 400 brand new businesses in New York, and represented over 95 countries through its vendors and their food. In 2023, the event averaged approximately 20,000 attendees each Saturday night.
Thanks to a major sponsorship from Citizens, the popular $5/$6 price cap on all food items will remain in place this year. Additionally, the event will keep vendor fees for food and merchandise vendors at last year’s discounted rate – and below what fees were even when it launched back in 2015.
New this year, the Queens Night Market will expand its footprint so more vendors can participate and will open an hour earlier at 4pm. These enhancements will enable vendors to generate more volume and will help minimize long lines for food.
John Wang, founder of the event, said, “When the Queens Night Market launched back in 2015, the price cap felt like a key ingredient in democratizing access to the event. But now, the price cap feels a bit like a lifeline for a huge swath of New Yorkers. I can’t thank our vendors enough for buying into our mission of being NYC’s most affordable community space, nor thank Citizens enough for making it possible to keep our benchmark price caps amidst the city’s skyrocketing cost-of-living.”
“Citizens is proud to be part of the Queens community and continue our support of the Queens Night Market and the entrepreneurs that use this venue to grow their small businesses,” said Nuno Dos Santos, Retail Banking Director at Citizens. “It is a special community asset that brings people together to celebrate our unique cultures and traditions, and we’re excited to partner to help ensure access and affordability for vendors and guests alike.”
Despite the popular price cap, last year was another banner for vendor sales. Food vendors averaged over $2,500 per night in sales, and art/merchandise vendors averaged nearly $1,000 per night in sales.
As with the last several years, Queens Night Market will sell a limited number of tickets for two “sneak preview” events (April 13th and April 20th) to alleviate traffic, capacity issues, and any disruption to the surrounding community. This strategy has been very effective in addressing these concerns, which emerged on opening night of the first two years. Admission to all subsequent events will be free. Sneak preview tickets will be available for purchase starting in March.
2024 Vendors & Vendor Application:
The Queens Night Market has officially opened vendor applications for its 2024 season and has received over 200 applications so far this year. Interested vendors should apply online by following this link https://bit.ly/2024-QNM-Vendor, or directing questions to:vendor@queensnightmarket.com
This season will feature Uyghur samsas, Burmese palatas and tea leaf salad, Turkish gözleme, Ethiopian sega wat and chechebsa, Peruvian anticuchos and ceviche, Trinidadian curry crab and dumplings and shark sandwiches, Venezeulan cachapas and patacones, Colombian arepas, Sierra Leonean jollof rice and cassava leaf stew, Romanian-Hungarian chimney cakes, Haitian diri ak djon djon, Indonesian kue pancong and martabak, Ecuadorian pernil, Hong Kongese soy sauce noodles, Persian dizi, Japanese ramen, Brazilian esfiha and churrasco, Fujianese fritters and mochi, Mexican tacos and picaditas, Indian vada pav and tandoori BBQ, Tibetan momos and shogo bhakleb, Cambodian fish amok, Portuguese pastéis de nata, Vietnamese banh mi, Salvadoran pupusas, Antiguan ducana and blood sausage, Taiwanese popcorn chicken, Ukrainian blintzes, Jamaican jerk chicken, and many, many more.
The event will also host plenty of art/merchandise vendors, including vintage apparel, hand-poured candles, travel photography, crochet toys, stationery, small batch soap, henna, vintage brooches and ads, international handcrafts, NYC-themed apparel, gourmet dog treats, handmade jewelry, ceramics, and local art.
A preliminary list of confirmed food vendors is appended to this press release.
Free Small Business Seminars & Night Market Incubator Study:
Queens Night Market is planning a series of small business seminars for the seventh year in partnership with the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., Queens Economic Development Corporation, and Citizens. This year, the series will also expand to Brooklyn and will offer live translation in Spanish and Mandarin, as well as translated materials in multiple languages.
The seminars are open to vendors interested in the Queens Night Market as well as individuals and families interested in starting any kind of business in NYC. Over 500 aspiring entrepreneurs enrolled for the seminar series over the last several years. Last year was the most successful iteration of the series, with roughly 100 attendees in each seminar.
The free seminars will be led by the NYC Department of Small Business Services, Business Solutions Centers in Queens and Brooklyn. The seminars will cover a range of topics such as business plans, branding and marketing, operational efficiency, social media and technology, and obtaining permits. The seminars will also cover Queens Night Market-specific topics and feature guest speakers, expert panels, networking, and Q&A opportunities.
There will be two rounds of seminars, the first being held in Queens on February 1st, February 8th, and February 15th from 6:00-9:30pm at Helen Marshall Cultural Center at Queens Borough Hall. The second round of seminars will be held in Brooklyn on February 26th, March 6th, and March 13th from 6:00- 9:30pm at Saint Francis College.
Light snacks and refreshments from Queens Night Market vendors will be served, courtesy of Citizens and Queens Night Market.
Anyone interested in attending the Queens seminars can find more details and RSVP for each session here: https://bit.ly/QNM-SBS-2024
Anyone interested in attending the Brooklyn seminars can find more details and RSVP for each session here: http://bit.ly/QNM-NYCBSC2024
Session I – First Steps & Creating a Business Idea that Works Session II – Operations & Profitability
Session III – Marketing & Social Media
Wang, who is also a member of NYC’s Small Business Advisory Council, said, “I think the fact that Queens Night Market has launched almost 400 brand new businesses in NYC is a real testament to what lowering the barriers to entry can do for entrepreneurship. But launching a business and setting it up for sustainable success are different animals, and these seminars are designed as a bootcamp for both.”
“The Queens Night Market is the perfect representation of our city’s entrepreneurial spirit and its diverse commercial corridors,” said SBS Commissioner Kevin D. Kim. “I’m proud that SBS is once again partnering with John Wang, Citizens, QEDC, and Borough President Richards to help more business owners unlock their potential and achieve success. These seminars will give them the tools they need to help them thrive and bring us all closer to the City of Yes.”
“I’m glad that the staple Queens Night Market will return for its ninth season, working with vendors from across the borough to not only serve our community delicious treats, but also to help vendors with their business by providing seminars and networking opportunities,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. “It’s critical that we work together to bring business and fun to Queens, and that’s what the Queens Night Market always does. I can’t wait to join and taste the world in April.”
Last year, Citizens conducted a survey revealing how night markets are an optimal way for small business owners to test new ideas and business plans before scaling and expansion, further evidenced by the nearly 400 brand new businesses in NYC that have launched as a direct result of Queens Night Market.
The study surveyed 363 small businesses, vendors, artists, and attendees from the Queens and Chinatown Night Markets and showed that the markets’ combination of low overhead costs, flexibility, and broad customer exposure enable entrepreneurs to grow their small businesses while helping build richer and more culturally diverse communities.
Website: queensnightmarket.com
Facebook: facebook.com/QueensNightMarket Instagram: instagram.com/queensnightmarket Twitter: twitter.com/QnsNightMarket
About Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $224.7 billion in assets as of September 30, 2022. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,300 ATMs and approximately 1,200 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
