For the first time ever, 4th Street SW will be getting a night market to support local businesses and reconnect the community since the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted. 

The Inglewood Night Market organizers will be bringing the free inaugural 4th Street Night Market to Calgarians this summer, with two event dates hosting a lineup of local vendors, live music and food trucks.

“It’s been two years since we’ve been able to host Lilac Festival and this is our way of saying thank you to the community for continuing to support Fourth Street area and the events that we put on,” Shannon McNally, event organizer with the 4th Street Night Market, said.

“People are kind of starving for some entertainment … [I think everyone] wants to reconnect and get back into to what’s happening, what’s trendy and what’s going on with the music scene here in Calgary.”

Public health and safety protocols have been put into place to accommodate the varying comfort levels coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ll have hand sanitizer and all the vendors will be up to date with their cleaning and sanitizing protocols. [We] will have as much cashless point-of-sale as possible,” McNally said.

“It’s a wide street, there’s lots of room for one-way shopping and egress, and the vendors will be spaced really well.”

The vibrant street-style night market will line the street at the intersection of 4 Street SW and Elbow Drive on Aug. 14 and Sept. 4. It will run from 4 to 10 p.m. each night.

What to expect

From cheesecake and coffee to outdoorsy backpacks and skin care, the list of 50 to 60 vendors offer a variety of different products for people to check out.

Vendor regulars such as TBB Desserts and Kingdom Coffee from the Inglewood Night Market will also have booths at the night market.

Based on foot traffic alone in the area, Colin Urquhart, co-owner of TBB Desserts, expects the event to be busier than the previous Inglewood Night Markets.

“The community of Mission is a lot more active and open, but that could be COVID restrictions lifting. So, people are a bit more comfortable out and about again,” Urquhart said.

TBB Desserts booth will have readily available two-portion specialized cheesecakes for customers to pick up, but their market setup doesn’t require many changes.

“I can’t really display products, so no one’s really at risk of like grabbing or touching anything, other than the bag that they’re taking home with their purchase,” Urquhart said.

Jesse Singleton, Founder of Kingdom Coffee, will be changing his regular trunk-space set up for a tent to sell his bags of coffee.

“We’re excited to do that … I think it’s going to be a great turnout,” Singleton said.

Other vendors will be making their public debut, such as Evan Wildman, Founder and Managing Director of Ram Canyon Industries, who hopes to connect with customers.

Ram Canyon Industries booth will have a bunch of products for people to buy, including a new product, The Mosquito.

“It’ll [also] be the first time for folks to be able to meet the face behind it, say hi, ask their questions and have a look at the products,” Wildman said.

“I’m so excited to be a part of the inaugural 4th Street Market that’s right in the neck of the woods [of] where I grew up, so it’s going to mean a lot to me.”

The success of the outdoor market will determine if it becomes a yearly attraction, with the possibility of adding more dates in the future, depending on response from the public and vendors.

“I think that having excellent feedback from attendees and the community will help leverage our ability to come back, and come back in a larger scale in future years,” McNally said.