When the Richmond Night Market’s neon lights turn off for the last time on Sunday, the Metro Vancouver community will say goodbye to one of the region’s most vibrant cultural gatherings after 26 years.
The event, which ran on weekends from April to September, was founded by entrepreneur Raymond Cheung in 2000 to bring public night-time culture inspired by Asian night markets to the B.C. suburb.
Mr. Cheung announced the market’s permanent closing last month. He said the market’s lease near Bridgeport station was ending, and that the potential cost of taking on a new, pricier lease wouldn’t make sense for the business.
The market originally opened at Continental Shopping Centre in Richmond. Over the years, it moved to bigger sites, evolving into what organizers claim is North America’s largest night market. It drew more than one million visitors, tourists and locals alike, each year. The market hosted upwards of 200 vendors selling food, clothing and more in brightly lit stalls.
Since relocating in 2012 to its current location near Bridgeport station, the market became a major cultural and economic anchor in the region.
With its lease expiring and no affordable new site to welcome the large event, the only course of action seemed to be to close the market. “It’s a very mixed feeling,” owner Mr. Cheung said.
“The sad part, of course, is this is the end of the chapter. I didn’t expect this to last forever,” he said. “… But this market is about bonding, it’s about community – that’s what it is.”
For families like the Purbas, who drove from nearby Delta for their fourth visit this season, the closure cuts deep. “We’re sad that it is closing, but it is the last weekend we can attend, so that’s why we’re here,” Gagandeep Purba said.
The market’s reputation is known across borders. Jesica Vinson travelled from Seattle with her family to catch the final season. “Is there any way to save it?” she asked.
Behind the food stalls, however, many long-term vendors were feeling at peace. At Po Wah Dim Sum, Christopher Yee helped his mother, Lai Wah, wrap up a legacy of more than two decades running the family business. “My mom has been doing it for 26 years and she’s retiring this year,” Mr. Yee said.
Vendor Francis Dela Chica serves up his signature ice cream bao buns on one of the last weekends of the market.
Others, such as Francis Dela Chica of Bao Buns, have accepted the closing as bittersweet. He said that while it’s sad that the night market is ending, it was also the perfect incubator for small businesses like his own. “It was a good place to start, to test your products, to meet new customers.”
