Though many people know Calgary’s most popular summer night markets, a UCalgary student-run not-for-profit is now testing its hosting skills, all for a good cause.
Garam Glam (GG), a UCalgary student-run non-profit created to fight warmth inequality, is set to host its first market this weekend. Realm Salon and Wellness will be full of vendors and patrons from 5 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, for the Garam Glow night market.
Aan Chahal, the GG’s founder and a Bachelor of Science Exercise and Health Physiology student, said the market on Saturday night will have something for everyone.
“We’ll have a lot of handmade jewelry, there’s candles, we have someone doing tooth gems, someone doing henna, and there’s people making custom keychains,” she said, adding that instead of paying a table fee, each vendor has pledged to donate at least 20 per cent of the night’s profit to GG’s cause.
Chahal said that the market will have nearly 40 vendors, a photo booth, and three live performers.
“Our music is soft or indie pop artists,” she said.
“One of our headliners, her name is Sara Carabone, she’s from Vancouver, and she asked to come out and headline for us, which I was really excited about.”
Admittedly, the days before the market have been nerve-wracking for the GG team. Chahal said that hosting a night market has been in the works since the organization was founded last summer.
A big part of GG’s model has been meeting people where they’re at. As with their previous thrifting pop-up, the market allows patrons to support a good cause without sacrificing their day-to-day tasks.
“Rather than just being a market, we wanted to be a space for people to connect. That’s why we included musicians and food and drinks and a photo booth, so, instead of going out to a restaurant or to the club with your friends Saturday night, consider coming out to us and having a really good time,” she said.
Free tickets can be reserved here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/garam-glow-night-market-tickets-1984147215734?aff=oddtdtcreator.
Organizational goals are ahead of schedule: Founder
Since its August 2025 launch, GG has grown quickly, from solely making and donating warmth kits to a thrift pop-up, to the market. Chahal said that this past year has been full of positive surprises.
“When we first launched, we were just focusing on selling press-on nails, and that was all we were doing. That is still a central part of our mission, and a great way for people to support us, because it can be ordered any time,” she said.
“A year ago, I would have never imagined that we’d be holding large-scale events like this. I was checking out our ticket system this morning, and over 200 people have registered for the night market, which is insane.”
When asked how GG has exceeded even internal expectations, Chahal credited her team. When five people are focused on making the same thing happen, things start to fall into place, she said.
With warmth not being a prominent issue in the summer months, Chahal said the main goal after the market is to gear up for another busy winter.
“We’re really working on trying to get mobile frostbite clinics to set up downtown through November and December. It’s definitely going to be a big project once again, as is the market, but with Garam Glam, I really want to move more into the healthcare side of things,” she said.
“Of course, it’s great to have preventative measures like our gloves and socks that we’ve been working on so far, but a lot of the time, especially living in Calgary, you can’t reach people fast enough.”
GG is now hoping to partner with established organizations and doctors for their potential pop-up clinics, Chahal said.
