From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. tomorrow night, the High Street and Pine Street Plazas will be filled with music, art and vendors. The Starlight Market, hosted by Promote Pullman, is being put on by local business owners and vendors in hopes of boosting foot traffic downtown.
Jandi Utzman, president of Promote Pullman and owner of two local businesses, said Promote Pullman was founded during the pandemic as a means of supporting each other and staying afloat. Promote Pullman is self-funded in hopes of being independent and self-reliant.
Being self-funded comes with challenges. Luckily, Promote Pullman is non-exclusionary and welcomes anything business owners can offer, be it financial support to the organization or innovative event ideas and meeting attendance.
Utzman credits the innovative idea for the Starlight Market to Crystal Sanchez, the event coordinator for this series of night markets and owner of the pop-up shop, Sun and Moon Candles. The event was born from expanding on previous projects like the ongoing Art on the Plaza series that Promote Pullman has put on.
Art on the Plaza is an event that Utzman has headed up for a few years. It gives participants space and supplies to create their own art at little to no cost and appreciate what Downtown Pullman has to offer.
Sanchez brought the idea of a night market to Utzman in hopes of beating the summer heat.
Just as Promote Pullman supports the brick and mortar stores of Pullman, the event supports participating vendors by letting everyone sell without paying fees. Many markets similar to the one being put on require the vendors to pay a fee to sell at the event, but Promote Pullman wanted to make sure that the event was accessible.
An application to join as a vendor for the subsequent markets that can be accessed via a QR code on all of their promotional materials.
The Starlight Market features Art on the Plaza at the High Street Plaza, while also bringing in vendors and food from local restaurants at the Pine Street Plaza. Each outdoor area will have live music, thanks to a donation of a second sound system to Promote Pullman.
Art on the Plaza will include opportunities to craft including a create-your-own perfume bar that can be enjoyed for free or upgraded for ten dollars.
Sanchez said that vendors include her candles and crafts, handmade press-on nails, handmade jewelry, face painting and a photo booth that is being put on by Sanchez’s six-year-old daughter. Mela, a local Bangladeshi restaurant that is adjacent to Pine Street Plaza, will also have an outdoor booth incorporated into the event.
The Bloom Bar is another aspect of the evening that encourages folks to engage with downtown. People can show organizers evidence of a purchase from the market or a downtown business from anytime on Friday to get the opportunity to make a personalized flower bouquet for free.
Utzman said Promote Pullman wants to help the community create unique events that draw people from surrounding communities to downtown. There are 20,000 Moscow residents, and although many Pullman residents go to Moscow’s Farmer’s Market, Utzman has not seen much of the inverse in recent years.
By creating unique experiences, Promote Pullman wants to uplift the local businesses in our small town and breathe life and fun into downtown.
