In Focus: Night Market

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Night market is a street market which operate at night and is generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets.

In November 2010,  city councilors Frederick Siao and Ruderic Marzo together with concerned businesses discussed the creation of a night market in Iligan City. The night market will be operated only on Fridays and Saturdays at the public plaza.

The  weekend night market will include dry goods and ukay-ukay, footwear, and general merchandise. There will also be eateries like street foods, turo-turo, barbecue stands, softdrinks, alcoholic drinks, lechon, and other food stuffs. The night market will allow the entry of various services like reflexology, massage clinics and entertainment/recreation.



The Weekend Night Market (Night Cafe - Iligan version) was formally launched last February 4, 2011.

Aside from the stalls for food and drinks, ukay-ukay items, and dry goods, a free live musical concert, lion dance and fireworks helped liven up the activity.

In consonance with the ordinance authored by Councilor Siao and approved by Mayor Cruz, the Weekend Night Market will be opened on Fridays and Saturdays from 6:00 p.m to midnight. On said days the outlying roads of the city public plaza, the principal night market venue are also closed to the traffic, such as Aguinaldo St. and Benito Labao St..

Another ordinance laying out the policy in establishing and regulating the Weekend Night Market in Iligan City has been passed. These changes were the increase in space rental from P10 to P15 per square meter, additional stall space in the street fronting Maria Cristina Hotel and the side of SBG Merchandising, Aguinaldo and Del Pilar Streets and the required barangay clearance for stall applicants.

 

The Iligan City Police Office has in place a security plan for the Weekend Night Market. Called Oplan Night Market, this involves deployment and tasking of police personnel, traffic management and monitoring.

 

The weekend night market is a good place for the night goers. Together with the busy entrepreneurs are busy buyers who showed interest in their products. The food, the drink, the different music bands’ performances, the colorful lights, and the beautiful crowd are the main factors that define Iligan’s weekend night market.