A detailed pedestrian count during this year's Commercial St. Night Market is showing just how many people are coming downtown every Thursday through the summer. (Image Credit: File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

foot traffic

Nanaimo Night Market attendance up ahead of 2026 season finale

Aug 26, 2026 | 3:05 PM

NANAIMO — New data shows attendance figures are up over past years’ averages for the Commercial St. Night Market.

Hosted every Thursday from late June to the end of August by the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, an average of 9,000 people were counted each week, with upwards of 15,000 visitors total during the warm, sunny evenings.

Chamber manager of communications and events Rinny Jose told NanaimoNewsNOW they monitored foot traffic at seven points in the market as part of an ongoing study of the event’s economic impact.

“A lot of the brick-and-mortar stores look forward to welcoming this market. For us, success isn’t just about having the biggest possible crowd every week, it’s about creating a welcoming space. We want to create a space where people want to spend time downtown and discover businesses and vendors.”

Jose said they believe weekly visitors averaged between 5,000 and 7,000 in previous years, but they never had this level of comprehensive data to back up their assumptions.

foot traffic

Nanaimo Night Market attendance up ahead of 2026 season finale

1h ago

Plate Dominance

NightOwls outfielder wins West Coast League MVP award

5h ago

international overdose awareness day

Oceanside event highlighting local lives lost to drug toxicity

10h ago

The 2026 season will close on Thursday, Aug. 27, with vendors again lining Commercial St. between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Live entertainment will be staged throughout the space, and the evening will end with a community drum circle, Jose said.

The market this year is the second under a new layout, with food trucks spread more throughout the market, instead of crowded just inside Diana Krall Plaza.

Upgrades to Commercial St. itself, completed in July 2025, also necessitated some adjustments for market organizers.

“We did lose a few spaces on the street where we could welcome more vendors or create more booth spaces, but for me the layout from last year has worked, as we now have a safe market space because there is no traffic coming along Bastion St., [and] we have food trucks up the top.”

She said staging some food trucks atop Commercial St. acts as a draw for hungry shoppers and helps them find more booths and vendor stalls away from the market centre.

Early planning for 2027 will take place in the fall, including a round of community feedback from shoppers and business owners.

Local news. Delivered. Free. Subscribe to our daily news wrap and get our top local stories delivered to your email inbox every evening.

info@nanaimonewsnow.com

Follow us on: Twitter (X) | Bluesky | Facebook

by Alex Rawnsley

Nanaimo Night Market attendance up ahead of 2026 season finale

More Local News