On Friday, Kenyon welcomed its third annual Night Market. Organized by student affinity group Kenyon Asian Identities (KAI), the event drew scores of students to the Gund Commons Ballroom. The Night Market is modeled after real nighttime open-air street markets popular throughout East Asia, made for leisurely strolling and shopping. With this in mind, the Ballroom was transformed into a lively and colorful space filled with wall decorations and dozens of different booths, fully immersing students in the Night Market atmosphere.

Spanning continents and cultures, the wide variety of food included treats from samosas to pork belly to burek, a stuffed phyllo pastry from the Balkan region. It featured stalls from Sisterhood, Adelante, Black Student Union, Men of Color, South Asian Society, Multicultural Identities Organization (MIO) and Eastern European Club. 

In an interview with the Collegian, Yasha Zehra ’26, a member of KAI’s executive board, talked about the importance of the event: “What makes it unique is that KAI collaborates with a bunch of affinity groups that share their cultures’ food with the whole campus.” Having a large cultural event like this allows organizations and students to bring foods from across the world to campus, an experience that can be hard to find in rural Gambier. In addition to the diversity of cultures represented at the Night Market, the event is also informative. As students walk around the booths with pamphlets they received upon entering, they learn about the origin and traditions tied to each food. Contributing to the event also provides participants with valuable experience. According to Zehra, “Running the booths is super fun; we have a lot of volunteers. It’s not always perfect and some things go wrong, but the Night Market is always so fun that people don’t even notice.”

Others had similar sentiments regarding the fun-yet-challenging task of preparing food for hundreds of people. “This is my first time doing Night Market and seeing the experience has been really energetic,” MIO’s event manager Elijah Lisboa ’27 explained. MIO’s booth had homemade Chinese pork dumplings but ran out halfway through the event. Given the unexpectedly large turnout, a few other booths also ran low on food. Despite some blips along the way, the event achieved its goal of bringing people together over a delicious cultural feast. 

Not only did the Night Market host an array of food stalls from organizations, but it also featured students selling individual pieces of art and other items. Studio art major Lauren King ’25 had a table full of her artwork for the second year in a row. When asked about her involvement in the event, King explained, “When I started doing paintings, a few people expressed interest, so I have prints of all of my paintings and some originals that I’m also selling.” 

The Night Market experience, as Zehra noted, “transports you into a different world.” If you missed out this time or can’t wait to go again, you will have to keep an eye out for next year.