06/16/2023

Think!Chinatown Announces Return Of Chinatown Night Markets For 2023 Summer Season

Citizens Continues Sponsorship to Expand Event
and Minimize Vendor Fees for Small Businesses

Highlights:

  • Think!Chinatown and its partners are bringing back the Chinatown Night Markets for a third year, starting in late June and through the summer
  • Citizens' ongoing sponsorship will enable Think!Chinatown to expand the Night Markets and engage more small businesses to participate
  • Support of Chinatown and the Night Markets is a continuation of Citizens’ commitment to fostering neighborhood resiliency and local economic development

Think!Chinatown today announced that the popular Chinatown Night Markets will return for another summer of celebrating culture and fostering community. Starting in late-June through September, the Chinatown Night Market will take place one Friday a month, from 8-11pm, at Forsyth Plaza. This open-air cultural festival, for which Citizens is the sole corporate sponsor, features Chinatown-focused programming alongside local art and food vendors. Think!Chinatown will reveal the official date of the first Chinatown Night Market during the week of June 19, 2023.

Each month, the Chinatown Night Markets welcomes up to 8,000 visitors to Forsyth Plaza to recognize the efforts of the community and what makes the neighborhood unique. The continued financial support from Citizens will enable Think!Chinatown to expand this year’s event and engage more local small businesses by offsetting registration fees.

“Citizens' partnership with the Chinatown Night Market exemplifies the deep and consistent support needed to sustain Chinatown’s resiliency,” said Yin Kong, director and co-founder of Think!Chinatown. “More than a Night Market, these public space activations create an affordable, diverse and safe space to celebrate our community while supporting our local small businesses.”

In the wake of the pandemic and ongoing economic challenges facing New York’s AAPI community, Citizens’ support of Chinatown and the Night Markets is part of an ongoing initiative to foster neighborhood resiliency and economic development. Last year, Citizens and LISC NYC partnered to launch the “Citizens Chinatown Renewal Fund,” a $350,000 grant program to benefit local small businesses—the largest corporate grant for Chinatown in recent years.

“At Citizens we believe cities, and the people in them, prosper when local businesses are supported and do well,” said Nuno Dos Santos, Retail Banking Director, Tri-State Metro, Citizens. “We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Think!Chinatown’s Night Market to help local entrepreneurs and small businesses in this vibrant community thrive.”

2023 Vendors & Vendor Application:

Think!Chinatown has officially opened vendor applications for its 2023 season. Interested vendors should apply online by following this link https://bit.ly/2023-CNM-Vendor.

This season will feature artisans of cuisine, traditional folk art and crafts such as paper cutting, sugar painting and palm braiding—all of which will be available for purchase. Chinatown Night Market vendors include local Chinatown favorites such as:

  • Kuih Cafe
  • Grand Tea & Imports
  • Xiang Mini Cake
  • Kopitiam
  • YaYa Tea
  • Kam Hing Coffee Shop
  • Little One
  • Pink Lady
  • Sugar Cane Daddy
  • Yu & Me Books

The event will also feature newcomers including:

  • Soofley NYC
  • Menya Jiro Ramen

Live Performances:

Think!Chinatown will continue to present their series of culturally-relevant musical performances on the plaza. This year, Gamelan Dharma Swara will open Chinatown Night Market series with its full ensemble of Balinese percussion musicians and dancers. Think!Chinatown’s DJ in residence, YiuYiu will spin from her “Chinatown Records” collection bringing some of her favorite Canto and Mandopop records and CDs inherited from her family and neighbors.

Chinatown Night Markets:

Additional details will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information, visit:

Website: https://www.thinkchinatown.org/nightmarket
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThinkChinatown/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thinkchinatown/

About Think!Chinatown
Think!Chinatown is a place-based intergenerational non-profit in Manhattan’s Chinatown, working at the intersection of storytelling, arts and neighborhood engagement. We believe the process of listening, reflecting and celebrating develops the community cohesion and trust necessary to work on larger neighborhood issues. By building strength from within our neighborhood, we can shape better policies and programs that define our public spaces, celebrate our cultural heritage and innovate how our collective memories are represented. Learn more at www.thinkchinatown.org.

Chinatown Night Market Partners:
Chinatown Night Market 2023 is presented by Think!Chinatown in partnership with Asian Americans for Equality and produced with support from di Domenico + Partners, Leroy Street Studio, Fried Frank and Gehl. Thank you to our city agency partners, Department of Small Business Services and Department of Transportation.

About Citizens Financial Group, Inc. 
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $222.3 billion in assets as of March 31, 2023. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,400 ATMs and approximately 1,100 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at www.citizensbank.com or visit us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.