Northern Liberties, Night Market, Philadelphia

2nd Street Festival is proud to announce the launch of the Northern Liberties Night Market Series. This inaugural series of outdoor food festivals is rolling into the single fastest growing neighborhood in Philadelphia on Thursday, September 23rd, from 5:00pm to 10:00pm, on N. 2nd Street between Fairmount and Poplar streets. This new event will take place every spring and fall, and is a pivot and expansion by the operators of the city's 2nd Street Festival, which has been on hold during the pandemic. For this first event, look for dozens of food trucks, food vendors, shopping vendors, sidewalk cafes, entertainment, family fun, lawn games, music, street performers, and a couple other fun surprises. The festival is free to attend and food/drink are pay-as-you-go. For more information, visit http://www.2ndstfestival.org/

"The organizers of the popular 2nd Street Festival are thrilled to debut this new series of open-air food festivals in our neighborhood of Northern Liberties," said President of 2nd Street Festival Corp. Owen Kamihira (also of El Camino Real). "For some time, the 2nd St Festival had been brainstorming ways to expand from just an annual festival into a year-round series of events. When the Food Trust announced the end of their popular Night Market series, 2nd St Festival saw this as the perfect opportunity to carry the torch of a tradition many Philadelphians hold near and dear to their hearts. That event was always designed to help set-up neighborhoods for success as the event continued to pop-up around the city, with the Mt. Airy Street Fare as a great example of the Food Trust's work in that area. We originally intended to launch something new in spring of 2020, but COVID had other plans. After two years on hiatus, 2nd St Festival is bursting at the seams to bring people back to Northern Liberties for fun and festivities. We can't wait to get back out there!"

Oron Daskal of North Bowl said, "When we started the 2nd Street Festival, we just wanted to celebrate our neighborhood and have fun doing it. It’s amazing how much interest it draws now and how much life it brings to 2nd Street.”

For this first-time event, the region's top food trucks will roll into the red-hot dining district of Northern Liberties for the inaugural Northern Liberties Night Market. Look for around two dozen food trucks, food tents, food and shopping vendors, and much more - plus room for distancing. This first time event will take over several blocks in the area around N. 2nd Street between Fairmount and Popular streets. The early list of vendors for this year include the following merchants:

* El Camino - Margaritas, frozen or on the rocks in a variety of flavors, plus Vice Night Punch (vodka, lemon, jalapeno hibiscus syrup, watermelon) and Mexi Mai Tais (Bacardi rum, Cazadores Blanco, Blue Curacao, orgeat, pineapple, lime)

* Urban Village - With a selection of Northern Liberties made beers

* Bake'n Bacon - Gourmet sandwiches where bacon is the star of the show; also available with grilled chicken and smoked brisket, for the non-bacon eaters and the bold who savor all three meats.

* Byzantium Empire - Delicious American eats influenced by Mediterranean and Latin traditions.

* Calle del Sabor - Variety of Caribbean & Latin dishes...burritos, tacos, jerk chicken and pork

* Chank's Grab n' Go - Pizza cones - pizza made portable!

* East Coast Empanadas - Fresh baked empanadas with traditional fillings and those with a modern funky twist

* Have a Ball - Specialty meatballs and fries

* Haagen Dazs - The FIRST and ONLY Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream Truck in the country

* Moocheeze Food Truck - Gourmet fried Mac and cheese balls, melts and fries

* Philadelphia Tropical Treats - Frozen fresh tropical treats that bring joy and happiness

* Pound Cake Heaven - Assorted pound and layer cakes

* The Little Sicilian - Aracini rice balls in all different savory flavors

* The Slider King - Various Sliders, Fries, Mac and Cheese, Salads

* Hudson Table - Northern Liberties hands-on kitchen and cooking classes offering sampling

* Piggy Back Treats - Local sustainably sourced treats for your doggos!

* And more to be announced soon!

For some vendors, this is their first major time back on the road and at this type of festival since the pandemic. The event will support our region's thriving food truck and mobile food vendor economy that was devastating to the industry, all while showcasing the red-hot food neighborhood of Northern Liberties. In the next one to two years, this is the fastest growing neighborhood in the entire city by the numbers, with up to 23,000 people set to move into apartments and new projects about to open or that are well-underway for construction. The population boom has also brought a restaurant boom. The three neighborhood pioneers behind the festival are thrilled and want to keep up the energy when their larger festival is on pause.

Entertainment will include games, family fun, music and more! Snacktime Philly will be traversing throughout the footprint a la marching band/2nd line style; there will also be a second troupe in the North Bowl parking lot. Big kids of all ages will find a Game Zone sponsored by Post Brothers with lawn games like corn hole, ladder golf, washers, life size Jenga, life size Connect Four and more. Project Positive Dance Troupe will provide street performers that will flip, twist and turn their way during open-air performances throughout the night. DJ Frosty will drop the tunes.

This Night Market series is not affiliated with the Food Trust and is an independent production of 2nd St Festival. The Night Market series was and has always been a series of pop-up food festivals designed to bring attention and awareness to different parts of the city, with the hopes of leaving neighborhoods with a sustainable event after it moves on. This new event was designed with that idea in mind to bolster a new and regular series of events - especially when the classic Night Market events are on pause.

The festival is free to attend, and pay-as-you-go for food and drink. Bring the kiddos and the pups, as this event is fully family friendly! For more info visit www.2ndstfestival.org/ for more information.

Northern Liberties, Night Market Series, Philadelphia

ABOUT 2ND STREET FESTIVAL

Founded in 2008 by Northern Liberties business owners, Owen Kamihira of El Camino Real, William Reed of Standard Tap and Oron Daskal of North Bowl, the 2nd St Festival was established with the goal of bringing people to Northern Liberties in a fun and engaging way. Since inception, the festival has grown into one of the City’s largest annual events, spanning several blocks and drawing upwards of 40,000 people.

In addition to drawing visitors into the neighborhood, 2nd St Festival also raises money to support programming for two established neighborhood civic organizations, The Northern Liberties Business Improvement District and the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association.