For four nights this summer, St. Paul's University Avenue, near the Green Line's Western Avenue Station, became a thriving Southeast Asian street market.
That was by design.
Seeking to invigorate and enliven a stretch of University that has become known for the breadth and depth of its Asian restaurants and stores, the Asian Economic Development Association sponsored Little Mekong Night Market — a street fair held on four dates between July 5 and Sept. 6. The lively events ran from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Night Market featured up to 50 vendors, including food trucks and non-Asian restaurants, selling a wide variety of things to eat, said Va-Megn Thoj, executive director of the association. The idea was to replicate street markets in Asia, complete with a wide range of "street food."
It proved such a hit that the vendors want it to grow larger and be offered on more dates next summer.
"Basically, it's a street market that happens at night. Lots of food vendors, street foods in particular," Thoj said in describing the events. "We also had a lot of entertainment, with more than 200 artists — visual, musicians, performers, bands."
Night Market was the first time area Asian businesses held an outdoor evening street fair along University. Thoj said it won't be the last. Already, his group is planning how big to make it and how often to stage it in the future.
"It pretty much exceeded our expectations," Thoj said. "It was our first year and we wanted to keep it small, but it got bigger."
