Asianati's Night Market is coming back to Court Street Plaza for four nights starting October 8, opening two hours before BLINK switches on its lights each evening at 5 p.m. The free event will pack in 17 food vendors representing cuisines from across Asia and the Pacific Islands, along with lion dances, taiko drumming, art installations, and a returning cosplay contest.
A Downtown Plaza Built for This Kind of Crowd
The market's return was reported by Cincinnati CityBeat, which detailed the lineup of vendors and activities planned for the four-night run. Sarah Kramer, director of Asianati's Night Market, told the outlet that the event transforms Court Street Plaza into a place capturing the feel, energy and spirit of night markets across Asia. That transformation is possible in part because of the plaza itself: it underwent a $5.5 million streetscape redesign completed in June 2021 by 3CDC and the City of Cincinnati, creating wider curbless sidewalks engineered for temporary vehicle closures during major public events, according to the City of Cincinnati.
Court Street's role as a gathering spot for vendors is not new. The site originally operated as a prominent open-air market in the early 1800s, giving the corridor roughly 200 years of history as a hub for outdoor street vending, per Unilock Commercial.
What's on the Menu This Year
The food lineup spans Nepali, Filipino, Cambodian, Malaysian, Thai, Indian, Hawaiian and Taiwanese dishes, with tanghulu, momos and chopped cheese banh mi among the items on offer, the market's organizers say. Vendors include Neko Sushi serving Korean cuisine, Mizu Sushi & Sake Lounge serving Japanese fare, and Tea 'n' Bowl offering Malaysian dishes. Pho Lang Thang will represent Vietnamese cuisine, Tikka Xpress will serve Indian food, and Dine-In Hawaiian will bring Hawaiian and Pacific Islander dishes to the plaza.
Rounding out the vendor list are Chino's Street Food serving Chinese and Vietnamese fare, Nittha Siam Kitchen offering Thai dishes, and Boba Cha with Taiwanese options. Emerald will serve Yemeni and Middle Eastern cuisine, while Chiz's Bakery brings Japanese baked goods and Little Chef Medy offers Filipino dishes. Bridges Nepali Cuisine, Lotus Street Food serving Lao and Thai fare, Symphony Grill with Mediterranean options, Mahope serving Cambodian cuisine, and S.E.A. Cuisine covering Southeast Asian dishes complete the 17-vendor roster.
Cosplay, Lion Dances and Family Activities
Beyond the food, the market includes the returning Tokyo Kitty Cosplay Contest, which lets attendees dress as their favorite characters and compete for prizes. Asian cultural entertainment will include lion dances and taiko drumming, alongside Asian-inspired art displays scattered through the plaza. Organizers have also built in family-friendly games and hands-on activities for younger attendees throughout the four-night run.
A Fast-Growing Fixture of BLINK
The Night Market has grown quickly since debuting at BLINK's 2022 festival, when it drew roughly 540,000 visitors before BLINK 2024 attracted approximately 2 million visitors, according to the Cincinnati Regional Chamber. That growth mirrors BLINK's own expansion: the biennial festival's 2024 impact report found the four-day event attracted about 2 million total attendees and generated $142 million in regional spending, with 19% of visitors traveling from outside the Cincinnati area, per LINK nky. Ahead of the October festival, BLINK organizers even hosted promotional showcases in London and Paris in March to raise the event's international profile.
Asianati itself has been scaling up alongside BLINK. The organization traces back to 2010 with the creation of the annual Asian Food Fest and formally merged in January 2026 with the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Cultural Exchange Association under executive director Paraag Maddiwar, as Hoodline previously reported. That spring event has itself grown from 1,000 attendees at its inception to 150,000 attendees in 2026.
Filling a Gap in Cincinnati's Cultural Landscape
Cincinnati currently lacks a designated physical Asian neighborhood or cultural center, and people identifying as Asian alone make up approximately 2.7% of the population in Cincinnati and Hamilton County. That absence of a permanent physical gathering space is part of why organizers see events like the Night Market as more than a food pop-up. Following its 2026 consolidation, Asianati announced a long-term strategic plan aiming to establish Greater Cincinnati's first permanent physical AAPI cultural center by 2035.
Until that goal is realized, temporary spaces like Court Street Plaza continue to carry the weight of that mission. The plaza's role as a festival venue also fits into a larger regional economic picture: an ArtsWave and Cincinnati Regional Chamber study found Greater Cincinnati's arts and culture sector generated $488.4 million in 2022, a figure that climbed to $737.7 million once BLINK 2022's economic output was factored in.
