About The Dresden Night Market
Take the drive to Dresden and experience the famous Dresden Night Market!
For one night each July and November, downtown Dresden is transformed into a unique outdoor shopping experience with so much more that the whole family can enjoy.
Recently named one of Ontario’s Top 100 Festivals & Events, the Dresden Night Market was created in 2017. A small group of friends were looking for ways to bring the community together that would be different from anything that had ever happened in Chatham-Kent before.
While there were already some long-standing events in the area, there weren’t many opportunities for people, small businesses, and non-profit groups to connect in a meaningful way. Many events were similar in scope to each other, even across communities. What was missing was an event that would bring everyone together for the sake of supporting all things local.
With a diverse skillset including event planning, fundraising, graphic design, and radio broadcasting and work experience in the non-profit, local government, communications, agriculture, and environmental sectors, these five friends teamed up to create the Dresden Night Market.
Today, the Dresden Night Market is more than an outdoor marketplace. The makers and vendors that are featured at the event are carefully selected to ensure that most of the products offered are handmade or grown by the business owner. Non-profit and grassroots organizations are invited to participate at no cost so they can raise funds and awareness at the event. Local downtown businesses stay open late so they can engage with thousands of visitors who have come from neighbouring communities and beyond. Local craft breweries and beverage vendors are showcased in the Pop-Up Bar where guests can enjoy a cold beverage. Restaurants and food trucks – all locally owned – offer food and desserts for guests to enjoy. And performers from across the region are invited to display their talents and entertain guests.
Every aspect of the Dresden Night Market is carefully thought through to ensure that our impact on the community is positive, that waste generated at the event is kept to a minimum, and that all entertainment and activities can be enjoyed by people of all ages. The Pop-Up Bar uses reusable cups to reduce waste, guests are encouraged to bring their own shopping bags and utensils, and banners and signage are reused every year.
The Dresden Night Market is proud to be a unique event in Ontario, always changing and evolving the event to be a new and exciting experience every year.
The event is run at no cost to the community of Dresden or to the downtown businesses.
It is entirely run by volunteers and directed by the same group of friends who created it. All proceeds go to the Sidestreets Dresden Youth Centre and back into the event.
