Tuesday, August 26, 2014
It was already nine o'clock, and I was exhausted, but I decided to go anyways. Abi had been asking, and I had been intending to go all summer, so the two of us went for a walk to the Surrey Night Market.
This was the first year having a Night Market in Surrey and I hadn't heard too many great reviews, but I was curious. (on opening night, they grossly underestimated the amount of people who would be going, so there were line ups to get in and not enough food at the vendors. The night we went, there weren't any problems and the crowds were good enough, so they figured things out.)
I am not a swap meet type of person. I have no problem with buying second hand or finding great used treasures, it's just that I find the typical swap meet is all junk. I don't need rusty tools (although my Hunny disagrees with me! He seems to love to collect them! We could open our own museum!) or old crappy toys or cell phone cases (actually, no, I do need one of those...) There does seem to be an awful lot of dollar store type vendors selling kitschy stuff, like marble creatures (made out of actual marbles) or fuzzy cat figurines, and a lot of them selling bras and panties. (because people go to swap meets for their intimate apparel) Despite knowing that, and having gone to the Richmond Night Market years ago (when Bryn was still in a stroller. We did a lot more things when it was just the three kids, apparently!), I was expecting to see much of the same.
And I wasn't disappointed. It was a lot, and I mean mostly, food vendors. A lot of ethnic foods, and your typical mini donuts, and curly potatoes on a stick. And a good three or four vendors selling cell phone cases (I couldn't find the kind I needed; they were all mixed up). There was a huge bouncy castle for the kids, and a main stage though, so those were neat. (although, the night we were there, the band had more of a karaoke feel to it) But I have to admit that there was nothing interesting there. Nothing that kept me thinking I had to hang out longer or even return another night.
But for just a $2 entry fee (kids under 48" were free. I wonder how old that would be typically? I suck at numbers that I can't picture visually) it was an okay night. Somehow Abi and I managed to walk around for an hour, trying to decide what to do. We tried one of those potato sticks, and chose Cheesy Cheddar as our flavour, but found them really salty and unappetizing. (I ended up approaching a group of teens to see if they wanted the rest of ours, since we only pulled off the top two pieces, and didn't lick them or anything! They gladly accepted and were very thankful!)
I took a picture of Abi holding her cheesy potato stick, but it somehow got deleted off of my phone. Boo! So here is a generic picture of one I found online:
There weren't too many interesting vendors, that is, nothing that I felt that I needed or even could be tempted to buy. But I did see these East Asian tapestries that looked beautiful. Just not something that I would put into my house.
At 10:30pm, they do a draw for a free laptop too, so we had to stick around for that. (You get a ticket for each person when you arrive) We didn't win. It would've totally changed my perspective on this had I won! That would've been nice! A free laptop for just a $2 fee? Ok, so maybe it isn't really "free" anymore, but still a $2 laptop? pretty cool!
I guess it just depends on why you want to go to these things. If you are looking for an evening to try out different foods, then yes, this is a cheap way to do it. It is different and can be seen as fun. If you are looking for a way to be entertained and enticed, then I would say that this fails in that area. I was looking for something fun, but there was nothing like that. I came home with thoughts of what could be done to make next year more enjoyable. Maybe more artisans? I love seeing creative people. Maybe some midway-type games? I'm thinking of opening up a ring toss game next summer! Something cheap and fun. It would entice people to come for a cheap date night! Who doesn't like stuff like that? Or how about one of those huge human hamster balls? I've always wanted to try that out but haven't actually seen one yet! A ferris wheel would be neat too, even though they scare me! I'm not talking about having West Coast Amusements pulling out their rides and such, because they are expensive (even if they are fun). I mean something cheap and fun! Like one or two games.
Yep, so I think it needs more. More fun. More different vendors. More versatility. But for $2, it was a pretty good evening spent with my daughter.
If you are wanting to check out the Surrey Night Market, you have this weekend left. The last night will be held on August 30th.
*and, no, I wasn't paid to give my opinions. That would've been nice!
ETA: I just found out (two days later) that they did have those balls at the Night Market. For some reason they weren't there the night we went. So bummed! And a bit confused why they weren't....
This was the first year having a Night Market in Surrey and I hadn't heard too many great reviews, but I was curious. (on opening night, they grossly underestimated the amount of people who would be going, so there were line ups to get in and not enough food at the vendors. The night we went, there weren't any problems and the crowds were good enough, so they figured things out.)
I am not a swap meet type of person. I have no problem with buying second hand or finding great used treasures, it's just that I find the typical swap meet is all junk. I don't need rusty tools (although my Hunny disagrees with me! He seems to love to collect them! We could open our own museum!) or old crappy toys or cell phone cases (actually, no, I do need one of those...) There does seem to be an awful lot of dollar store type vendors selling kitschy stuff, like marble creatures (made out of actual marbles) or fuzzy cat figurines, and a lot of them selling bras and panties. (because people go to swap meets for their intimate apparel) Despite knowing that, and having gone to the Richmond Night Market years ago (when Bryn was still in a stroller. We did a lot more things when it was just the three kids, apparently!), I was expecting to see much of the same.
And I wasn't disappointed. It was a lot, and I mean mostly, food vendors. A lot of ethnic foods, and your typical mini donuts, and curly potatoes on a stick. And a good three or four vendors selling cell phone cases (I couldn't find the kind I needed; they were all mixed up). There was a huge bouncy castle for the kids, and a main stage though, so those were neat. (although, the night we were there, the band had more of a karaoke feel to it) But I have to admit that there was nothing interesting there. Nothing that kept me thinking I had to hang out longer or even return another night.
But for just a $2 entry fee (kids under 48" were free. I wonder how old that would be typically? I suck at numbers that I can't picture visually) it was an okay night. Somehow Abi and I managed to walk around for an hour, trying to decide what to do. We tried one of those potato sticks, and chose Cheesy Cheddar as our flavour, but found them really salty and unappetizing. (I ended up approaching a group of teens to see if they wanted the rest of ours, since we only pulled off the top two pieces, and didn't lick them or anything! They gladly accepted and were very thankful!)
I took a picture of Abi holding her cheesy potato stick, but it somehow got deleted off of my phone. Boo! So here is a generic picture of one I found online:
There weren't too many interesting vendors, that is, nothing that I felt that I needed or even could be tempted to buy. But I did see these East Asian tapestries that looked beautiful. Just not something that I would put into my house.
At 10:30pm, they do a draw for a free laptop too, so we had to stick around for that. (You get a ticket for each person when you arrive) We didn't win. It would've totally changed my perspective on this had I won! That would've been nice! A free laptop for just a $2 fee? Ok, so maybe it isn't really "free" anymore, but still a $2 laptop? pretty cool!
I guess it just depends on why you want to go to these things. If you are looking for an evening to try out different foods, then yes, this is a cheap way to do it. It is different and can be seen as fun. If you are looking for a way to be entertained and enticed, then I would say that this fails in that area. I was looking for something fun, but there was nothing like that. I came home with thoughts of what could be done to make next year more enjoyable. Maybe more artisans? I love seeing creative people. Maybe some midway-type games? I'm thinking of opening up a ring toss game next summer! Something cheap and fun. It would entice people to come for a cheap date night! Who doesn't like stuff like that? Or how about one of those huge human hamster balls? I've always wanted to try that out but haven't actually seen one yet! A ferris wheel would be neat too, even though they scare me! I'm not talking about having West Coast Amusements pulling out their rides and such, because they are expensive (even if they are fun). I mean something cheap and fun! Like one or two games.
Human Hamster Balls would be fun!
Yep, so I think it needs more. More fun. More different vendors. More versatility. But for $2, it was a pretty good evening spent with my daughter.
If you are wanting to check out the Surrey Night Market, you have this weekend left. The last night will be held on August 30th.
*and, no, I wasn't paid to give my opinions. That would've been nice!
ETA: I just found out (two days later) that they did have those balls at the Night Market. For some reason they weren't there the night we went. So bummed! And a bit confused why they weren't....
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