By Shira Laucharoen

Old cameras, reclaimed furniture, tape cassettes, and more were on display under the tents that lined the streets of Somerville’s Union Square. At the second annual Night Market, held on the evening of June 30, vendors specialized in vintage items and artisan goods. The Somerville Arts Council partnered with the Somerville Flea to produce the market, an ArtsUnion event.

“We’ve been doing the Somerville Flea for the last six years in Davis Square during the day on Sundays,” said founder of the Somerville Flea and organizer of the Night Market Greg Ghazil. “It sometimes gets kind of hot and sunny, so one thing we wanted to try to do was avoid that. Moreover, I had traveled from Thailand and went to Chiang Mai, where they had an extensive night market. I fell in love with the idea of rummaging through vintage antiques and oddities outdoors under the stars and under the light bulbs.”

The event offered an array of vintage items and antiques, decking the tables and stalls of the market.

The Night Market peddled a variety of wares, including stationary, records, posters, modern calligraphy designs, and colorful dresses. At one stand, Bridge It Studio presented laser-etched drawings, incorporating roses into the images. Pleasant Street Barn reupholstered and decorated furniture discarded on the side of the road, painting housewares with charming patterns. The store Merch Merch Merch offered an array of hand printed t-shirts, whose designs were informed by creator Amelia May’s musical sensibilities. Cyclical in Nature, a shop creating artifacts out of objects found in the outdoors, integrated feathers and sticks into its crafts. The event also showcased performances from local bands and musicians.

The Somerville Arts Council endeavors to uphold the creative life of the city through its celebration of art and culture. The organization created the ArtsUnion program, which encourages the cultivation of Union Square, 13 years ago, leading to the generation of markets, festivals, and tours in the neighborhood.

“Our mission is to support the artists in Somerville and reflect the diversity of our city. The Night Market directly supports artists by giving them a vending opportunity and highlighting them,” said Somerville Arts Council special events manager Nina Eichner. “We lower the barrier to entry because we are providing support for them. We have all of these immigrant owned restaurants and businesses in Union Square, and a mix of artists and vendors will be at the event. Keeping the city diverse in terms of artists and people who live here is really important to us.”

The shop Inky Baby specialized in children’s clothing with classic, reversible designs, meant to fit a variety of sizes.

Boutique Merch Merch Merch exhibited t-shirts styled with original designs. — Photos by Shira Laucharoen