Presented by Town Green District, downtown New Haven’s business improvement district. “We do fun stuff!” (Unofficial slogan.)
NEW HAVEN NIGHT MARKET
vendor call - MAY 2026
Thank you for your interest in being a part of the May 2026 Night Market! We invite vendors, businesses, merchants, entrepreneurs, and artists to showcase their handmade artisan items, curated retail goods, local art, foods, cuisine and more!
MARKET DATE:
Friday, May 15, 2026 | 5PM - 10PM
(Rain date: may 16)
MARKET LOCATION:
ninth square NEIGHBORHOOD,
downtown new haven
vendor applications
ARE NOW CLOSED.
THANK YOU TO ALL WHO APPLIED!
all applicants will be notified of vending status by midnight friday, March 27.
Payments will be processed upon acceptance.
Please DO NOT contact us to ask about vendor application status prior to Friday, March 27th. You WILL NOT hear from us regarding vending status prior to Friday, March 27th. That is the day we will be in touch with you via email.
If we have not contacted you regarding vending status by March 30th, feel free to email us to ask what’s up.
NEW vendor APPLICATION SYSTEM: EVENTENY
We are thrilled to announce our new application portal - Eventeny! Having vendors submit applications through this portal will solve many of the frustrations expressed in the past.
Vendors will apply via making a profile which will save your files and information, allowing swift & easy re-application from Market to Market. Communications from us to vendors will be done within the portal, so no more accidental junk mail or missed connections on important info. The payment feature will allow vendors to pay via ACH bank transfer.
On our end, the systems internal features will not only allow us to become more organized in how we communicate with you and plan on complex city streets, but allow us to track vendors per Market, ensuring we continue to prioritize variety and diversity for audiences moving forward.
CLICK THE ICON FOR YOUR APPLICATION TYPE BELOW TO CHECK OUT THE NEW APPLICATION SYSTEM!
choose your vendor application type:
REQUIRED READING PRIOR TO APPLYING: 2026 New Haven Night Market RULES & REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT
ATTN FOOD TRUCKS - you may qualify for the Itinerant Food Vendor Reciprocal Licensing which exempts you from the $80 health dept. one-time permit required to vend.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.
An itinerant food vendor can receive a license and be inspected by one local health jurisdiction and then be allowed to operate in another local health jurisdiction as long as the two local health departments have signed the reciprocal licensing/permitting agreement.
Example poster by Hayden Gaillard, 2024
Poster ARTIST Applications ARE CLOSED
THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO APPLIED!
Every Market, we commission 1-3 artists for work on posters to represent the upcoming Night Market! Poster designs are sold as event souvenirs by pre-order prior to and at the event's Welcome Tent. In addition to a $350 stipend, artists will also receive 60% of poster proceeds sold by pre-order AND the night of the event.
If you are interested, please use the form at the button above and include a minimum of 2 past art works of any medium as examples of your style.
Artwork examples should be past work only; please DO NOT create Night Market-specific work for this submission form. Artists of all mediums are welcome as long as they translate into poster format.
Compensation: $350 + 50% of poster proceeds sold via pre-order and night-of the event
Some details: Posters are vertical, 11x17"; physical posters are printed by local business on souvenir-quality 120# paper
ADDITIONAL INFO: Night Market Poster Artists will be notified by end of the day Wednesday, March 18th.
Artists will be asked to create their design within about 2 weeks, with a draft (to make sure dates and info is correct).
We love to take photos of our poster artists with their work for sales promotion on social media and our website, so we will arrange a brief (15min) photo shoot to take place at a location in downtown New Haven. Time & place TBD.
additional participation OPPORTUNITIES:
Are you a brick & mortar business located within the Town Green District boundaries who wants to participate without vending in a tent? Drive traffic into your physical space on Market day and night by offering a Night Market Promotion. Promotions will be listed on the event map and handed on to guests as well as listed on the event website. A promotion can be anything from a specialty event cocktail to a live band in-store, pop-up vendors in-store, art pop-ups, shopping or dining discounts, henna or tarot reading, dining discount, live product exhibits - whatever fits your business best!
What if I’m a non-food, non-arts/retail, non-nonprofit entity - how can I participate in a future Night Market? Night Markets do not offer traditional tent/table space for businesses outside the food, art/retail, or nonprofit categories. Instead, we offer Activity Sponsorships—an opportunity to host and staff a free, interactive activity for the public! This format drives far more engagement than standard info tabling, while still giving you space to share and collect information. Sponsors also receive a featured listing on our website’s Happenings page and the Market Map, directing guests to your activation. If you can’t staff an activity yourself, we can pair you with one and recognize you as the Sponsor just the same. Questions? Reach us at: nhvnightmarket@gmail.com
Add yourself to our list of talent! Town Green District keeps a list of talent, near and far, who are interested in performing at any of our many annual events. Add your info to this list and we will have it on file when event planning time comes. This list is not specific to only playing the Night Market; you will be considered for all TGD-hosted programming.
ATTN PAST night market VENDORS:
Participation in past Night Markets does NOT guarantee a spot in future markets. We greatly value all past vendors and their enthusiasm in the event, however the Market has grown and vendor applications received has more than quadrupled over the years. AS YOU HAVE SEEN, STREET SPACE IS LIMITED. To give access to other vendors and add variety to the Markets for event guests, past vendors may be rotated per event. Know that we love you and will get you into a future night market again, if not this one.
GENERAL DISCLAIMER: Limited vendor space is available at each Market. Limited tent rentals available. Applicants must review the "Rules & Requirements" document. Vendor applications will be reviewed by Market staff. Vendors must hold all required permitting prior to applying and submit in application. Vendor fees apply based on BID (business improvement district) classification and rental needs.
