By Seth Daniel, News Editor
The Dorchester Reporter on April 26, 2023
Dorchester’s Ethan Nguyen, getting a boost from his dad, Tuan Nguyen, reached for one of the many lanterns in the alleyway between Adams Street and Dorchester Avenue during the 2022 Night Market event in Fields Corner. (Seth Daniel photo)
The Boston Little Saigon Cultural District’s Night Market (Cho Dem) event will be back again this year on Sat., July 15, after a very successful inaugural event in Fields Corner last summer. Festivities will take place from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sat., July 15, on blocked-off Dorchester Avenue between Park and Adams streets.
No one was more surprised at the large numbers of people that showed up last summer for the energetic, nighttime spectacle than the event’s organizers. What was planned as a mid-sized event to help local businesses struggling to emerge from Covid-19 turned into a blockbuster regional showcase of Dorchester and its Vietnamese community.
“We are basically tripling the back-end work so we can be better prepared for the event,” Annie Le, of Boston Little Saigon, told the Reporter. She said last year they planned for about 5,000 people, but the event attracted an attendance estimated at 20,000 over several hours.
“It was great, and the support was fantastic,” said Le. “The restaurant owners, they were overwhelmed, but it was a good overwhelmed. The energy and excitement was great. The folks that may not have been so excited were some people who felt it was so crowded they didn’t enjoy it. That’s why we’ll be better prepared this year.”
One of the key changes will be adding a larger performance stage at Town Field and hosting all of the entertainment there. With more space to spread out, Le said, they feel they can offer more Night Market fare.
“With a smaller stage last year [across from the Fields Corner branch library], we weren’t able to have as many performances,” she said. “At the park, we hope to have more entertainment and people can come with blankets and enjoy the festival there, too.”
Right now, she said, organizers are engaging with civic organizations to make sure everyone knows well in advance that the streets will be closed and planning with community leaders and Boston Police C-11 officers to ensure that safety is paramount. They are also working again with the Boston Night Market team, which is hosting its event on City Hall Plaza on May 13.
Fields Corner organizers will be using the run-up time to spruce up around the neighborhood, and buff up some of the existing murals emphasizing the Boston Little Saigon Cultural District, and considering unique art/lighting installations in the pathway between Adams Street and Dorchester Avenue.
“Night Market was established to support our business owners and bring people into the neighborhood,” Le said. “With the amount of attention we received, it really pushed us to go further than what we were planning for and bring more attention on the Boston Little Saigon Cultural District.”
For more information on the event, go to bostonlittlesaigon.org.