Canada News
Richmond Night Market suffers, may be canceled cause of COVID-19
Different people around the globe strive to battle the pandemic but several industries that rely on flocks of people are suffering. This includes the 20th anniversary of the largest night market in North America, the Richmond Night Market.
Because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the management team of Richmond Night Market released a statement back on April 25th, acknowledging the much-needed “pause” of the world.
“While the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve on a daily basis, Richmond Night Market has made the responsible decision to postpone it’s opening for this year’s event to ensure the health and safety of its guests, staff, and vendors,” it said.
It added that it puts the well-being of the community and its staff as its highest priority in this time of uncertainty.
“At this time, we are looking at the end of June to decide on our next steps, but this will be fluid and change as the situation develops,” it further said.
The Richmond Night Market which started in 2000, founded by Raymond Cheung, attracts over 1 million visitors yearly. It is a summer event, opening in May usually lasting until October. The event has been housed in different locations to cater the growing number of crowds that visited each year. It includes several vendor booths, interactive stations, activities, live music, and more.
In an article by City News 1130, Cheung was quoted as saying that this year’s “devastating” for the event, with about $1.5-million already invested.
“Everything is already done and already purchased since March. The amount of money we’re talking about, it’s scary, actually,” he said.
In addition, according to Cheung, about 300 vendors already signed up for the event. However, canceling the Richmond Night Market this year is still a possibility despite all these.
“We’re seasonal. Once we close down or cancel a season, we’re done for the whole year,” Cheung continued.
Switching online
The grand opening for this year was supposed to be on May 8. But because of the current circumstances, the organizers, like several institutions and industries, relied on the power of social media to cope.
Without leaving their homes, the people can still visit and be part of the event right under their fingertips. All they have to do is join the Instagram live sessions of the Richmond Night Virtual Market and follow their social media accounts for daily updates.
