I was looking forward to return to the Art Station for their first ever Night Market, especially after a successful Big Shanty Bazaar last fall! And since it was May, the Night Market was also a celebration of AAPI culture with a lion dance performance, a Korean art gallery, and Japanese and Hawaiian food trucks.
Applications
The Art Station put out a public call for vendors on social media in January, with applications due by the end of February. They also emailed us vendors from previous markets to invite us to apply. Their applications were available on their website as a pdf that you emailed back. The application fee, 10 dollars for Cobb residents and 15 dollars for nonresidents, was accepted through the Cobb County PARKS web portal. If you were not accepted into their event then the fee would be refunded to you.
In mid March I got my acceptance email which also came with a Night Market social media graphic to share and a basic information packet! Then in early May we got another email with a booth map and load-in/load-out details. Just like with Big Shanty Bazaar they wanted us to park by the Kennesaw High School so that attendees could have the closer parking.
The Art Station staff put a lot of effort into social media, with customized graphics for each artist, performer, food truck, and then some! Genuinely, I’m always impressed with their campaigns.
Night Market
We were allowed to come start setting up as early as 2 PM. I wanted to make sure I had as much time as possible since I knew the afternoon heat would slow me down. And boy did it!
Once we pulled up to the Art Station parking lot, a staff member, Andy, checked us in and pointed us to our assigned spots. To allow other vendors space to maneuver their cars, we were to unload our cars and then park in the Kennesaw High lot before finishing our setups. Both unloading as quickly as I could and walking from the parking lot got me a little dizzy from the sun. And the walk’s not that far! It’s been a while since my last hot weather event so I forgot to bring a frozen water bottle, which would’ve been such a relief. I took it my setup very slowly, making sure to take breaks and drink water as I needed it. Since I wasn’t at full capacity I did a simpler setup with less decor. Less plushie snakes, less flower place mats. Still, it took me until about 4:30 to finish my tent, perhaps the longest on record?
Fortunately, there was enough time for me to rest my eyes before the gates opened. There must’ve been a line waiting because a burst of people arrived right at 5 PM. As a family friendly event there were lots of parents with small children, quite a few kids kept playing with my capsule machine ^__^;; There were also plenty of young adults, middle-aged, and elderly folks, I even got to see a few of my friends and neighbors stop by!
Most of my sales happened during the first hour with a slow drop throughout the evening. During performances, most of the crowd would wander towards the outdoor stage, but it was always just busy enough around my booth that I couldn’t leave my for long. As a result I didn’t get much of an opportunity to check out the other vendors, but from my passing glances everyone had really great stuff! I think the Art Station did a good job curating a diverse set of styles and crafts.
Just like with the Big Shanty Bazaar, the Art Station had lots of goodies for us. Throughout the evening, Andy handed out stickers, baseball caps, and buttons with Night Market branding, along with water bottles and glow sticks. It was fun to see all the vendors wearing the hats and “vendor” button pins, it was kinda like we all had an official uniform.
My booth was located just in front of a speaker this time. While the staff came to check with us nearby that the volume levels were acceptable, sometimes when the MC came on the volume spiked, spooking anyone nearby. While I did bring my Engage Loops it did make me wish I had brought my Experience ones, haha.
There was just enough traffic that I wasn’t able to grab dinner until the second lion dance performance around 7:30. I finally got to put in an order at Mr. Tombstone’s Coffee Emporium for so much needed caffeine. Then I stopped by Big Toko Barbeque and ordered their Hawaiian BBQ chicken plate with macaroni salad. Quite honestly, it’s some of the best food truck food I’ve ever had!
For a Night Market there were a lot of sunlight hours, haha, but I guess that can’t be helped in May. I did pack lights but they ended up being more helpful for teardown than for the Night Market itself. By the final hour most visitors had already chosen what they’d like to purchase, so I was able to chat and catchup with my friends. They even helped me pack up my tent once the Night Market was over!
Billie’s Vendor Review
| Foot Traffic | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Attendee Vibes | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Restrooms | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Pokémon GO | ⭐⭐⭐ |
| Organization | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Despite having Big Shanty Bazaar to look back on, I wasn’t sure how the Night Market would go since it was both shorter and at a different time of day. I did have less sales overall but that’s to be expected with the aforementioned reasons. With only a 10 dollar booth fee, it was easy to be profitable! While the Art Station is backed by the Cobb County government, with how much effort they put into their events I wouldn’t be surprised if they do end up raising booth prices eventually.
I look forward to seeing them grow and hope they’ll continue to have me. They do put an emphasis on vendors based in Cobb County, but I’d recommend their events to any local artists in the greater Atlanta area.
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