Night Market season kicks off along Roxborough’s Ridge Avenue

Philadelphia’s first Night Market of 2016 kicked off on Ridge Avenue in Roxborough on Thursday night.

The annual food truck-centric event sponsored by the Food Trust drew in a crowd of approximately 25,000 people from varying neighborhoods in the city, Food Trust communications manager Carolyn Huckabay said.

“The goal of Night Market is to get people to parts of Philly they might not know,” Huckabay said. “We always try to work with a community organization. Communities, like Roxborough, usually want people to come.”

Philadelphia’s Night Market is sponsored by the Food Trust, a nonprofit group dedicated to providing healthy, affordable food for economically disadvantaged regions. The group was founded in Philadelphia in 1992 and offers a variety of programs, including hosting farmers markets and providing nutrition education.

The Night Market works with local business owners along with food trucks from around Philadelphia to coordinate the annual events. Taking place in new neighborhoods each year, the Night Market tends to draw in people who rarely visit the area where it is hosted.

The market locations are usually posted several months in advance, with the exception of this summer. The next two markets will be held in West Philly and Callowhill, but the final market of the season in October has yet to be announced, as a sort of experiment to “see what happens,” Huckabay said.