Night Market 831 Debuts with Food, Drink, Music and Lots of Art

November 2, 2021 – The comparisons to “open-air street bazaars found around the world” sounds aspirational. But you can’t blame forthcoming Night Market 831 for thinking big. 

And, truth be told, they do have the backdrop and the event chops to pull it off. 

The setting is the relatively new Art Park, which drips both eye-popping murals and event versatility. 

Organizing outfit Good Vibez Presents are the same producers behind the wildly popular Cali Roots reggae-rock festival, which—for the uninitiated—pulls in world-class reggae rockers, but also uploads plenty of extracurricular action too.

On top of that, the Sand City West End District with which it is partnering, has long swung for the fences with its art initiatives. These days, after the latest wave of fresh murals came ahead of the 2021 West End Celebration this August, the tiny city has enough sweeping murals to give it a claim to the most art-per-capita just about anywhere in the state. 

Sand City frequenters also have the muscle memory left over from über-popular Independent Marketplace monthly gatherings that brought together farmers market-style produce shopping, seafood demos, cocktail stations, performance art and more—and also brought people from all over the area. 

The Night Market 831 monthly gathering launches this Friday, Nov. 5, when it takes over the Art Park at 525 Ortiz Ave., in the heart of West End. 

The 5-9pm happening synchronizes with Sand City’s First Fridays, spotlighting a number of elements that make the community special, including artist studios. A number of nearby art studios will throw open doors, including Monterey GlassWorks. 

Ring-leading such an affair is something of a bucket-list item for Good Vibez partners-in-life-and-business Amy and Dan Sheehan. During COVID the Seaside couple moved their office from Pacific Grove to Sand City and found an ideal backdrop for one of the items on their menu of desirable to-dos.

“There’s a lot of markets out there: farmers markets, flea markets, pop-up markets,” Amy says. “Dan and I have always had a running list—a dream list—of events, and one of them is a night market.”

When they moved their headquarters to Sand City, she adds, she started “oodling” over the Art Park space. As the the city started doing City Spark gatherings and a corn hole league materialized, the Vibez tribe took notice.

“We saw the potential for us too,” she says. “I think it’s so fun to do something in the evening, something where families can bring kids, get a beer and some food, but what we’ve always felt is that it should be a whole experience: Not just grab food and look at vendors, but something super-interactive.” 

To that end, the inaugural market will feature Johnny Wicks selling handmade candles, but also encouraging anyone with an 8-ounce jar or smaller to pour one themselves. Small Kind Soap will present wares but also invite visitors to cut their own bar. Monterey County Arts Council will educate interested parties on their breadth of work but also lead fairy- and bird-house paintings and the chance to help decorate what Sheehan describes as “a gratitude pumpkin.”  

“We want to create ways of settling into the space longer,” she adds. “It’s about hanging out, encouraging people to bring friends and family and stay.”

Other participating artists and craft masters include Arsenio Baca, Leah Mark Designs and Progress Not Perfection Paint. 

Food trucks like Seaside-based Oli’s Philly Cheese Steaks and adored Sand City regulars Tacos Don Beto will park their kitchens. Mmm Churros will sweeten the proceedings too.

Post No Bills Craft Beer House, meanwhile, will furnish beverages. Smart money says local wineries will look to pour their own goods going forward.

Good Vibez hopes to keep the art-and-culture kick-it sessions coming on an ongoing and indefinite basis. Good Vibez marketing coordinator Dana Greer told EMB themed First Fridays are planned deep into 2022.

“We hope it keeps growing so we can keep adding amazing vendors that bring people down here,” she says.

For the opening installment, multi-instrumental and multidimensional ensemble Live From the Bassment leads off a monthly lineup that will rotate through the Art Park stage. Hanif Wondir fronts the group, has painted some of the city’s murals and happens to share a studio neighboring Good Vibez. 

“As a community, we’ve all been rooting for Sand City to find a glorious level of hip,” Wondir says. “We as a band want to be there to experience it. There’s a lot to appreciate.  It’s nice to use all the work Sand City has been doing and fuse it into an ongoing thing in a cool environment.” 

Sheehan hastens to add that the market can work as a hub alongside other things to admire. 

“It can be a stop on checking out Sand City, which has so much to offer,” she says. “With the murals alone, you can spend an hour looking around, and they look that much cooler at night.”

As can a fresh new market.

More at Night Market 831’s Instagram feed and Facebook page.