Santa Rosa’s Wednesday Night Market growing as it settles into its new location

Ash West twirled and swung his dance partner Lily-Ann Thrailkill with ease as hundreds looked on at Santa Rosa’s Wednesday Night Market.

Their performance in front of a large crowd gathered at the Old Courthouse Square lawn wasn’t part of the market’s entertainment lineup Wednesday but was, instead, more spontaneous. Thrailkill, 16, of Santa Rosa, said she and fellow dancers from Ellington Hall dance classes like to hang out at the market and show off their moves.

They now have more space to do so with the market held at the downtown plaza.

“This area is amazing. There’s such big space we don’t have to worry about running into people,” Thrailkill said before running off to join West and a dozen or so friends who had formed a dance circle in front of the music stage.

The market opened at its new location on May 3. Now more than halfway through its 2017 season, attendees and vendors are still getting used to the new layout of the market, which previously spanned Fourth Street from Mendocino Avenue to ?E Street.

Val Silcock, 25, of Rohnert Park, said people stopped him as he was munching on a roasted ear of corn to ask where they could get one. The vendor is now located on the east side of the plaza.

“The market is the biggest I’ve seen,” Silcock said, while settling on the lawn next to his girlfriend, Lynne Pao.

“You have grass now,” Silcock declared.

Pao said the plaza feels more open. And it also has more seating, which she said was a hot commodity when the market was held on Fourth Street. The alley behind the library was “the spot” because it provided shade and stones to sit on, she said.

With more open space, Silcock said he no longer needs to worry about someone bumping into him while eating. “Do you know how many times I’ve dropped a plate?”

More people are attending the event, market manager Leslie Graves said. She said nightly attendance this season is averaging 8,000 people, compared to 6,000 last year.

That good news for vendors like Mike Bennett and Nellie Gamez.

“I’ve seen a definite sales increase over last year,” said Bennett, who has been selling funnel cakes at the market for years.

Gamez, owner of Nellie’s Oysters, said the location is “definitely better.” She said the square provides a more comfortable place for families to stay and enjoy the food, entertainment and music. “I enjoy the music. I just love cooking and dancing,” she said enthusiastically.

The market takes up about the same number of blocks but feels bigger because of the plaza, Graves said.

“It’s the same footage, but now we have this big open space to bring the community together,” Graves said. “It is what you put into it.”

Graves said she wanted to focus on bringing the diverse community together. One of her first projects was to organize a wedding event. Three couples last month were married in the center of the square by Mayor Chris Coursey and Vice Mayor Jack Tibbetts during a Wednesday Night Market. As they recited their vows, so did Graves and her now-husband, Chris Monson, who discretly stood on the side and became the “secret” fourth couple to marry.

“I wanted it to be about community and diversity,” she said of the wedding event. “That’s what the square means to me.”

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 707-521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.