Oakmont will be bringing back a popular favorite with the return of the night market series, starting in June.
The market, sponsored by the Oakmont Chamber of Commerce, will be featured on upper Allegheny River Boulevard and run from Maryland Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue. In past years , the market was on the bottom portion of the street, but because of ongoing construction, the location was switched this year.
Three markets are scheduled, from 5 to 8 p.m. June 17, July 15 and Aug. 19.
Alhough Oakmont is known for festivals featuring participation by most of the borough’s businesses, the night market specifically will feature only those selling actual goods, including food and drink, clothing, healthcare products and a variety of other goods and services.
“Our goal with the event is to gear it towards an actual market for items and for goods rather than service vendors in order to highlight those particular businesses and also to make it a little different from some of the other events that we do,” chamber of commerce director Karen DeTurck said.
That doesn’t mean there won’t be some familiar names and faces in the vendor group. Past favorites such as Pappy’s Gourmet Kettle Corn, Kona Ice, and the Oakmont Olive Oil Co. already are committed to the event, while Oakmont Olive Oil’s owner Sharon Carroll, who also chairs the event, continues securing a full array of other vendors for the event.
Carroll also has booked live music acts to perform in the center of the boulevard underneath the clock tower. For the June 17 kickoff, music is by Sadie Freund, a Pittsburgh-based singer-songwriter who plays acoustic guitar and plays both covers and original music. July 15 will feature another Pittsburgh singer/songwriter in Jake Rubenstein, while the musical guest for the Aug. 19 show has yet to be determined.
Ultimately, everyone involved with putting the show together is happy to be putting events together again following the disruption over the last several years from covid, and the Chamber of Commerce will continue to add both additional vendors and more event sponsors as we move towards the start of summer kickoff date.
“It’s still in the planning phase, but we’re extremely excited to be back out here and doing events again and we just want everyone to know that night market is back and it’s going to be fun,” DeTurck said.
Visit the Oakmont Chamber of Commerce at www.oakmont-pa.com.
