Beaverton Night Market Returns July 22

BEAVERTON, OR — Residents and visitors are invited to an evening of music, dancing, food, and friends at the Beaverton Night Market this Saturday.

From 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. July 22, the city's Diversity Advisory Board will host at The Round, located at 12725 S.W. Millikan Way, the first of two Beaverton Night Markets of summer 2017. The second is set for Aug. 12.

This marks the third year Beaverton has hosted a Night Market and the second year it's offered two events.

The free, family-friendly market is meant to emulate the same vibrant, intercultural night markets experienced internationally, city officials said, noting that many of the more than 40 vendors offering authentic wares hail from regions outside the U.S.

In fact, according to Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle, 1 in 5 Beaverton residents were not born in the U.S., and 1 in 3 residents are not white.

"That tells you we have a lot of cultures here, and we ought to celebrate that," Doyle told Patch Thursday. "The Night Market really reflects that we value people who don't look European."

Not that Doyle doesn't value Caucasians (his own Irish family dealt with discrimination when they immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1900s, he said), he's just made a priority out of making folks who aren't white feel comfortable in the city.

"I felt we should be very proactive in reaching out and making people feel comfortable," he explained. "We're lucky we're this different … (and) it's nice to see people who used to stay in the understandable comfort of their own circles come out and mix with others."

The Beaverton Night Market will showcase foodstuffs from around the globe prepared locally in Beaverton; delicacies from East Africa, Lebanon, Mexico, India, Thailand, and more will all be available, according to city officials, as well as crafts and other goods representing various worldly cultures.

Musical performances and dance routines will include African and Japanese drummers, Eastern European/Slavic rock and roll, traditional Mexican and Aztec dancing, Indonesian and Tongan performances, Chinese Wushu martial arts, Indian dance, and salsa music.

And new this year will be the addition of craft and goods sales, in addition to the previously-offered music and food.

"This is a test to see what people think," Doyle said of the new offerings, noting that he expects to see somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 people attend the event. "It'll be elbow to elbow."

Parking at the event will be limited to on-street, the parking garage on Southwest Millikan Way, and other nearby surface parking lots, so officials are encouraging prospective visitors to use the free shuttle service offered between 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. from the parking lots of three locations around downtown:

• Beaverton High School, 13000 S.W. Second St.;
• Beaverton City Library, 12375 S.W. Fifth St.; and
• the Beaverton Police Department, 4755 S.W. Griffith Dr.

Additionally, the market is located along TriMet's MAX Blue Line and Beaverton Central Station, allowing visitor to use TriMet's park and ride locations as well.

For more information, visit www.BeavertonOregon.gov/NightMarket.

This post has been updated to include comments from Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle.

Photo Courtesy: Diego Diaz for the City of Beaverton