626 Night Market comes to Bay Area, celebrating diversity with tasty treats - KGO-TV

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Sunday, May 28, 2023 6:59AM

626 Night Market comes to Bay Area, offering tasty treats

PLEASANTON, Calif. (KGO) -- 626 Night Market, a touring market event inspired by open-air markets in Asia, came to the Alameda County Fairgrounds this weekend bringing a large host of vendors. Many of the vendors offered Asian or fusion inspired food.

"This is probably my favorite job," said Nazuna Yamada, who is from Japan and helps run a yakisoba booth. "The line we have is always long. Later it will be like five times this. Two-hundred people."

626 Night Market says their goal is to empower a community by showcasing talent. They say they do this by being a platform for chefs, artists and other vendors. It originated in Los Angeles, but comes to other western cities. Some of those vendors say it is a large source of their income.

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"It is very popular for us," said Lisa Lucido, who runs Vista Fusion Island Grill. "It is all based on family recipes and we kind of put our own twist on them and we do Hawaiian fusion."

May is AAPI Heritage month. Those who went to the event say it was important for them to see diversity on display.

"I grew up in a diverse part of Texas and it kind of reminds me of what I saw there," said Jessica Thompson who came down from Sacramento. "It feels very homey so to see a culture being represented, it means a lot."