New Night Market in Oakmont draws crowd, set to return in July and August
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A new initiative from the Oakmont Chamber of Commerce designed to help artists and vendors recover from the pandemic brought in hundreds of people below the borough tracks.
The old Oakmont Bakery lot along Allegheny Avenue, and even the lower part of Maryland Avenue, was packed with patrons June 18 for the inaugural Night Market.
Festivities kicked off around 6 p.m. with live entertainment and people lining up to shop. It continued for nearly four hours.
Organizers were determined to see things through despite concerning weather reports.
“It seemed like everyone showed up at once,” said chamber director Karen Deturck. “It was so crowded. It’s really fun to see the people out there. We had a great turnout. It was surprising because we came real close to cancelling it because of the weather. Everyone was saying, ‘They’re calling for thundershowers between 8-9 p.m.’
“On WeatherBug I wasn’t seeing it, but everyone was telling me it was supposed to storm. I just said, ‘It is what it is, and we’re going to do it.’ I’m glad because it never rained a drop.”
Pappy’s Kettle Korn was one of the more than 30 vendors who participated in the event.
It is owned and operated by Penn Hills couple Larry and Jean Fetterman.
They can usually be found at various farmers markets in Plum and the South Hills area.
Larry Fetterman said it was great to see the support in Oakmont.
“It was really nice down there,” he said. “Can’t wait to do the next one. We’re members of the chamber, so that’s one reason why (we were there). We like the community of Oakmont and have a lot of relatives down there. Oakmont is really nice.”
Fetterman said he and Jean kept popping throughout last year despite the pandemic, and were even able to donate about $4,000 to various nonprofits.
“We followed the covid-19 rules of the county and we moved on,” Fetterman said. “We were helping fire departments and keeping busy.”
Pappy’s is scheduled to return to Oakmont at the July and August markets.
Other businesses that participated include Oakmont Olive Oil Co., Mad Science of Pittsburgh, Homegrown 1910, Oakmont Candle Works, Moonbeam Cafe, Jack Paluh Arts Inc., the Olive Branch, Chick Consignment, BEpic Organic Nutrition, Soaps by Bonnie, Amanda Lee Glassware and Stateside Vodka.
Oakmont Candle Works is located along the avenue a few blocks down from where the market took place.
Owner Tabatha Flanick said it was great to see people crossing the tracks for a chamber event.
“I think that Oakmont needs attention throughout, even upper boulevard and lower boulevard,” Flanick said. “I just think it’s great that they’re branching out and doing it in different areas. Everybody enjoyed themselves. The rain held off. I think it’s a good thing. We had a lot of locals, a lot of new customers came that never heard of us. I loved seeing the little kids running around and listening to music. It just felt like we were a little bit back to normal.”
Flanick said she plans to return to the August market. The July humidity tends to impact the soy candles.
DeTurck said the idea to have a night market was inspired by other municipalities.
“We’ve heard about them in other communities like Squirrel Hill and Lawrenceville and thought it would be nice to bring something like that to Oakmont,” DeTurck said. “We’re just trying to get people to come in and visit our stores and restaurants. We had a terrible year last year, and we’re just trying everything we can to hit a niche where people are responding.”
A handful of new vendors are expected to come to the July 16 and Aug. 20 markets.
Times were scaled back to 6-9 p.m. due to decreased foot traffic and energy in the late stages of the night.
More information about chamber events is available at oakmont-pa.com.