626 Night Market Introduces 'Summer Garden Nights' Series

The ever popular 626 Night Market will return to Santa Anita Park this summer with a series of three weekend-long events.

The "Summer Garden Night Series" will feature more than 80 Asian street food vendors, 70 local merchandise vendors, several beer and spirits booths, performance artists, live DJ’s, dancing, concerts, films and children’s activities.

“We are ecstatic to have this year’s events in the crown jewel of Santa Anita, the Paddock Gardens," Market founder Jonny C. Hwang said. "The beautiful garden setting, expansive terrace bar, formal stage, and alley setup will be a unique combination that defines our event: an Asian night market in Los Angeles. We plan to fully utilize the new location to continue to be a platform for local businesses, emerging entrepreneurs and now a place to showcase local artistic talent.”

More than 100,000 people from around the Santa Gabriel Valley turned out the first time Santa Anita Park hosted the 626 Market, making it the largest night market in the United States. 

Modeled after Hong Kong's famous night markets, the 626 Night Market was originally held in Pasadena, where it drew crowds of more than 20,000 people. But since the site in front of the Pasadena City Hall couldn't handle the throngs, Hwang struck a deal with Santa Anita officials and moved the market there.

Santa Anita has had an eye out for expanding the use of its grounds since it began losing revenue to off-site betting. Hosting the 626 Market seems to have met the needs of both Hwang and the track.

“The 626 Night Market provides an exciting demographic to us here at Santa Anita,” Santa Anita President George Haines said. “This event was a great success last year in the Infield and we think it’s going to be even better in our Paddock Gardens area. Santa Anita is happy to participate in this dynamic new community event which will showcase our beautiful grounds to a large group of new visitors.”

If You Go:

• Dates: June 8-9, July 6-7 and Aug. 3-4
• Hours: Saturdays, 4 p.m.-12 a.m. Sundays, 4 p.m.-10 p.m.
• Admission: $2 for adults. Children 12 and under are free.
• Parking: Free from 4 p.m.-6 p.m., and $3 after 6 p.m.