Saturday Night Market returns to Pittsburgh
Jun. 15—For the next five months, Saturday evenings of music and shopping will once again fill Market Square in Pittsburgh.
The Night Markets return Saturday — after missing last year because of the pandemic — through Oct. 30. The 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. event features music and shopping, with a rotation of more than 60 vendors selling handmade goods such as crafts, jewelry, fine art, fashion, photography, international items and food.
Like in past years, there will be live musical performances in collaboration with co-presenters such as Driving While Black Records, Manchester Craftsmen's Guild's MCG Jazz and Mr. Smalls Theatre, which brings the opening night act featuring Hollyhood, Victor Abendano and Najj Andrea.
"We are excited to team up again with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership for the return of this year's Night Market events," said Liz Berlin, founder and musician with Rusted Root, and co-owner of Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale via email. "We love being able to provide performance opportunities to the amazing artists of Pittsburgh so they can spread their righteous sounds to all of the ears downtown."
On June 26, Mark Jackovic and The Jazz Influence will be presented by MCG Jazz.
Driving While Black Records hosts local hip-hop artists Jordan Montgomery, Livefromthecity, and JM the Poet on July 3.
Russell Howard, vice president for special events and development at the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, said the partnerships "provide a platform for various entities dedicated to music across various genres. They are the experts and we can turn the programming over to them to curate the evening. We can tap into their social networks to bring people Downtown who may not have been to the Night Market before."
Howard said working together is also a way to support both the musicians and the vendors. Many of them have struggled the past 14 months through the pandemic.
A list of vendors and performers can be found here.
The relaunching of Night Markets is a one way to return to some normalcy, said Jeremy Waldrup, president and CEO of the PDP.
Market Square has become the center of many events in the city, from the recently held World Square to the Holiday Market, Howard said.
"Market Square is a destination," Howard said. "Saturday nights we see people who may not be Downtown during the week and many families and those who are visiting the city."
He said the PDP decided in the beginning of the year to bring back the Saturday Night Market. He also said they are planning on hosting the annual Picklesburgh held in July.
"We are working on it," he said. "It's a signature event."
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact JoAnne at 724-853-5062, jharrop@triblive.com or via Twitter .
