Kicking Back at the Night Market

Photos courtesy of Sara Chen

The sun hasn't even set by the time the first ever UCI Night Market starts, but already the music is booming and lines of people are forming in the Student Terrace. According to the Facebook page, almost 200 people are supposed to arrive to today, and the crowds don't lie. Japanese drum group Jodaiko briefly preforms, but people are more focused on the stalls for now, and the booming drums echo away, replaced with some faint clapping.

If UCI is trying to emulate the OC Night Market, then it hasn't quite reached that point yet. Photos of the well-established market reveal an area crammed to almost maximum capacity with people and stalls. Inside the gates, there's everything from knit dolls to meat skewers for sale, while a stage at the front continuously draws in a mass of people for performances. The UCI Night Market might not match up that level of intensity yet, but there's a diverse mix of food for sale, and students have another chance to interact with their fellow UCI peers. People call out what they're selling, such as pad thai, samosas, milk tea, and Hawaiian BBQ. Besides food, there's also a beanbag toss offering pillow pets, a stand for henna, and one for mason jar plants.

All the stalls are from student organizations, such as clubs and frats, and all the performers are students as well. Flimsy fold-out tables and handmade signs lack the usual “polish” of UCI events, giving it a far more homely and down-to-earth feel that comfort and draw in students.

Zulakha Sheik is waiting for henna with a friend, and she is clearly excited about UCI's newest event, which feels so purely student run.

“I thought it [the Night Market] was really different,” she says, while wondering over what kind of henna design to get and scrolling over images on her phone screen.

Jessica Nguyen, a fourth-year biology major, is already busy at work, piping intricate lines of dark, maroon henna onto people's wrists and hands. Her friend Nishat Hamid sits to the right, engrossed in a particularly complex design that wraps around a girl's wrist. The stall is by far one of the most popular ones at the market.

“We came to support out friend who's part of ASUCI,” Ngyen says, as the jar by her side fills with bills.

While henna might be garnering the most customers right now, the Global Environmental Brigade isn't far behind, as numerous students around the market tote mason jars of plant milk tea. The tea is topped with salted cream and dusted with crushed oreo cookies to look like dirt, before a mint leaf is tucked on top to resemble a sprout. Vanida Ngeam, the vice president of the club, slightly groans as she says why the club is here.

“Because our president signed us up!” she explains with sarcastic smile.

Suddenly, people fill in. Some even sit on the ground in front, phone cameras ready. The Southern Young Tigers club comes up with students holding drums and cymbals, as well as two large Chinese lion costumes. Two people each duck under the costumes, and the drums and cymbals begin their lively beat. The person in the back lifts and throws up the person in front in dizzying maneuvers, while the latter operates the head's mouth flaps. The lions seem alive as they prance about, tearing into the lettuce and unfurling red scrolls that read “good luck” and “good fortune”; crowds go absolutely ecstatic as the lions begin mingling with the audience, while one even poses for selfies.

When the performers all bow, people are loudly clapping and cheering. They leave the stage, and people wander back to the stalls, searching for food or some other amusement.

Theta Tau, a professional co-ed fraternity is selling pad thai, and many members are all there as well.

“We're literally a family,” Kelly Inciong says, as a future alumna of the fraternity. They're making the best of it all, earning money while also strengthening the bonds between members of the frat. It's no wonder that they seem to sell pad thai at a steady clip, as laughter filled faces all around don't feel forced at all.

Ellen Shieh, the winner of the Soulstice competition gives a brief performance, her powerful voice echoing far and wide. Her skill is clear, even with a microphone that sounds like there's thirteen layers of foam wrapped around it.

When the dance team CADC is up, they have the biggest crowds yet. Jerseys, jackets, shirts, and sweatshirts all emblazoned with different team logos can be seen in the audience, and people cheer as the dancers move with energy. Cassidy Cox, a general member of the INSA dance team, drops this tidbit of information.

“What's cool is that members of the dance community sit in front,” she says, glancing at the stage.

Once the dancers leave, the crowd fizzles out, as most people have already been to most of the stalls by now. A two person duo called Skydive appears on the stage, but after technical difficulties, the sparse crowd dwindles to just a single row of people.

Khue Bui mans a laptop and electronic tools for instrumentals, while Jenna Mason-Brase sings and plays electric bass. Brase seems to be having the time of her life as she even jumps onto a nearby pillar, singing her heart out into the sub-par mic. Her voice has impressive range, sounding low and sultry at times, before sliding up to a high and clear tone, while catchy electric music plays in the back.

Brase in particular doesn't seem perturbed at all by the low turn out.

“I love performing – if it were a sport it would be my favorite sport,” she declares after the show, helping Bui pack.

By tomorrow, it will be as if the market never existed – a shame, considering all the fun and excitement that went down tonight.