Get your shopping bags ready: Garrison Market returns to Fredericton this week

Fredericton loves its farmers markets especially under a clear night sky during the work week.

The Garrison Night Market will be returning to Fredericton for its second year in a row this Thursday after "overwhelming demand" from vendors and members of the public. The market will be held on Carleton Street in the city's historic Garrison District.

"Part of the magic of the Garrison Night Market is that every single week is different," saidStacey Russell, an assistant manager with Fredericton Tourism.

The market will be open every Thursdaybetween 4:30 p.m. and 9 p.m., untilSept. 5.

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This year the market will also expand and feature more vendors in the city's downtown core.

"We were getting comments last summer of, 'How do we sign up for the following year?'" she said.

This year's marketwillinclude everything fromlocal and imported handmade products, to art andfine crafts, tolocally grown farm products.The market will featurelocal micro-brews, ciders and sprits.

Boost to local economy

There willbe entertainment and food visitors can enjoy, as well as a student entrepreneurship table.

"It's an incubator space for new vendors," she said.

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The nighttime market, which already expanded past its predicted size, started out as a pilot project last year.

Although there hasn't been any formalanalysis done to measurethe market's success, Russell said it's had a huge benefit to the local economy.

City staff are hopeful the nighttime market will bring more people into Fredericton's downtown again this year.