Building on its meteoric popularity in recent years, Friday Night Markets will be back at Shipbuilders' Square in 2015.
City council voted to rent Shipbuilders' Square to the North Shore Green Markets Society, which runs the night market, for 22 Fridays between May and September at a cost of $7,500.
Since its first year in operation in 2010, the market has grown from a handful of food trucks and craft vendors drawing in a few hundred visitors to more than 90 stalls and food trucks bringing in well in excess of 5,000 visitors per night, a city staff report noted.
Almost three-quarters of attendees were coming from outside North Vancouver, the report adds.
But while Friday nights have been a smash, Saturday programming on the waterfront hasn't enjoyed the same success, a follow-up staff report notes.
The city put up $54,000 to help run the Summer Concert Series in 2014.
Organizers only received council approval for the programming in April, making it difficult to secure corporate sponsors and book artists in time for the event. A children's afternoon program was also sparsely attended, according to the report.
Still, the Twilight Markets concert series will be back in 2015 with an aim to generating more interest. The city is putting up $60,000 for 2015 and will seek new proposals for concert programming in 2016.
The waterfront discussion triggered debate and political jabs over whether the city should pursue the waterfront vision put forward by the city's hired consultants last year or just explore cheaper options.
