Oakmont kicks off night markets
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Oakmont kicked off the summer season with the first three special night markets to run on upper Allegheny River Boulevard between Maryland and Pennsylvania avenues.
The opening event was June 17, and further markets are scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. July 15 and Aug. 19.
Oakmont Chamber of Commerce sponsors the night market, which specifically features vendors and businesses offering actual goods for sale, such as food, drink, clothing and body products.
The weather was ideal for opening night and especially for the Kona Ice snow cones booth, which joined vendors including Leone’s Pizza, which recently moved to the old What’s Cooking at Casey’s location at 608 Allegheny River Blvd. and was selling pizza slices, subs, and pepperoni rolls right outside the business’ brick and mortar location.
Other food and drink vendors included Bygone Wines, selling organic dry fruit wines; Mad Mac Macarons, “the authentic French macarons”; Pappy’s Gourmet Popcorn, a staple of Oakmont festivals that carries multiple flavors of kettle corn; Still Mill Distillery, a local small-batch distiller with vodka, gin and wood water; and also Pure Grub 412, which features gluten-free, organic vegan food.
There also was plenty for the kids. Fidget Tree had a booth with a wide array of children’s toys, while one of the most popular booths was the Mad Science booth, a Pittsburgh-based STEM program featuring science enrichment programs for children in preschool up to age 12. Youngsters were invited to the booth to do a science experiment creating homemade slime in colors of their choice, to be taken home in jars.
“It’s a beautiful things to see out here mingling today on such a lovely day. We love being out in the communities and sharing our enthusiasm for science with kids,” Mad Science owner William Cody said.
Pets were not excluded either, as Bentley’s Dog Bistro had a booth set up selling dog treats, toys and a multitude of other pet-related items, and plenty of the market attendees made sure to bring their pets along with them while walking the booth lineup on the boulevard.
Other popular vendors were Oakmont Candle Works, featuring homemade scented products; Soap By Bonnie, homemade from pure goat’s milk; and Oakmont Olive Oil Co., which was giving out free tastings to dip in bread.
Sharon Carroll, who owns Oakmont Olive Oil, chaired the night market and played a major role in its organization.
“One of the reasons we do this event is to get people back out into the community,” she said. “We’re really excited for people to come in not just from Oakmont and Verona, but from other neighboring towns, as well. It’s just a fun family night. Having it on a Friday, everyone is relaxed. They have their dogs. They’re with their kids. And it’s just a great time.”
A premiere opening-night attraction was live music by singer-songwriter Sadie Freund. Carroll has more music planned for the other two markets, with Jake Rubenstein scheduled to perform at the July event and the musical guest for the August to be announced.