PLEASANT HILL, CA (May 20, 2025) — Pleasant Hill kicked off a long-awaited Night Market, to the appreciation of hundreds who gathered May 2 at Chilpancingo Park on the city’s north end.

Slated for the first and third Fridays of each month through Nov. 7, the market featured food, artisan vendors and entertainment. The estimated 1,200 folks who drove, rode and walked to the site off Golf Club Road gave a strong impression to city officials that the event had struck the right chord.

“The Night Market was by all measures a great success,” said Zach Seal, Pleasant Hill’s Economic Development manager.

Open 5-9 p.m., the market hosted 73 vendors – including 55 booths selling wares such as pottery, jewelry, home decor, paintings, candles and gemstones – and 18 food and beverage merchants. The May 16 Night Market will feature the pop and rock sounds of Concord-based Vinyl Countdown. Similar live musical stylings are anticipated for June’s gatherings.

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A Community Partnership Takes Shape

Seal viewed the Night Market as “an excellent example of a public-private-community partnership.”

The city coordinated with KSPANNU LLC of Pleasant Hill, which has been putting on community events for three years, along with collaborating with the shopping center property owner, the Recreation and Park District and Diablo Valley College.

“I was really happy with the turnout, and this is what I was expecting,” said Sunny Pannu, KSPANNU’s managing director.

The project was set in motion in May 2024 by the city’s Economic Development Committee as a strategy to launch a new event on the north side of town to supplement the many established and popular events downtown. In addition, Seal noted that Belle La (now on the City Council) brought the concept of a Night Market to the city’s Diversity Commission.

One year later, Pannu organized a plethora of entertainment reflective of the diverse population that calls Pleasant Hill home. The five cultural performances at the first Night Market included two from Punjabi Bhangra Academy – Johr Jawani Da and Fairfield Girls, along with a Chinese Lion Dance from Concord Kung Fu Academy, the Matahani Tahitian Dance Group and Slavic cultural dance from Drama Club Skazka.

AAPI Heritage Month

The event also marked the beginning of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Night Markets, or night bazaars, are deeply rooted in Asian history. The first night markets sprouted in China during the Tang Dynasty, as early as the 9th century A.D. The cooler environment for commerce evolved into cultural hubs that blended tradition and modernity.

Now, night markets are central to Asian culture and have arisen across the globe, highlighting local cuisine, crafts and community engagement.

“The turnout and positive community response set a strong foundation for the future Night Markets,” Seal said.

Pleasant Hill Mayor Sue Noack shared Seal’s assessment.

“It was great to have an event in the north side of town, but it was evident that people came from all over,” said Noack, who was optimistic that the event’s offering will keep everyone coming back.

David Scholz

David Scholz is back in journalism as a freelance writer and photographer after nearly two decades in education. Prior to moving into teaching in 2000, he worked as a full-time journalist since 1988 for rural community and small daily newspapers in Central Ohio and Northern Nevada, and later in California with The Business Journal in Fresno and dailies in the Bay Area, including The Oakland Tribune and The San Francisco Chronicle. More recently Scholz also worked in an editing, writing, and page layout role with the Rossmoor News.