Will Friday Night Markets Arrive in Arcata?

Friday Night Markets may wrap up in Eureka in August this year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the party is over. Next week, Arcata City Council will entertain an item that could see Arcata host additional Friday Night Markets on the Arcata Plaza on September 5, 12 and 26 (skipping the 19th to avoid cannibalizing attendance from the North Country Fair).

Assistant City Manager Tabatha Miller told the Times-Standard that Humboldt Made Executive Director Rosa Dixon approached Arcata with the opportunity to host September’s Friday Night Markets after conferring with the city of Eureka, who opted not to host events beyond August and instead extend the event’s brand to its neighbor to the north.

“One of the big aspects (of the event), and this is certainly Humboldt Made’s mission and their purpose, is that we really are trying to highlight our local businesses and support them,” Miller said. “Anything that we can do to get people out and about and using and eating and drinking (our local businesses’) products and the goods of our community is always a good thing.”

Miller said that the September dates becoming available was a “perfect opportunity with the students coming back to Cal Poly” while weather was still favorable to outdoor events.

She said that the market nights will necessarily be on a smaller scale and a different experience than Eureka’s well-loved Friday Night Markets or regular Arcata Plaza events like the Arcata Farmers’ Market, with a different mix of vendors and hopefully a group of attendees following the festivities from Eureka to Arcata.

The Arcata Plaza currently hosts a number of events, including the annual opening ceremonies of the Kinetic Grand Championship (pictured) and the Arcata Farmers’ Market. (Sage Alexander/Times-Standard)

“(We’re) trying to get people to maybe venture out a little bit more,” Miller said. “So folks that would have gone to the Eureka Friday Night Market through the summer could come out here and enjoy not just what the market has to offer but what Arcata has to offer,”

Night markets will feature 60 vendors, including “food trucks, farmers, makers, artists and community organizations”; live music and entertainment; a beer garden “featuring local breweries, wineries and distilleries” and other amenities.

Additionally, Miller said, the event has made it a priority to highlight local businesses around the Arcata Plaza — encouraging local businesses and restaurants to stay open and participate and even offering plaza businesses free booths at the event.

Markets would close the plaza to car traffic from 4 to 9 p.m. The city has estimated that market nights could attract more than 5,000 attendees.

Expenses associated with the event will come from the city’s Community Projects account, an account dedicated to supporting economic development in the community.

A staff report prepared for Arcata City Council can be read at
https://tinyurl.com/27buas3v
. Humboldt Made’s Arcata Friday Night Markets proposal can be read at
https://tinyurl.com/mtbmxwub
.

The Times-Standard was unable to reach Humboldt Made before the publishing deadline.

Robert Schaulis can be reached at 707-441-0585.