The El Sereno Night Market is resuming on Wednesday after organizers temporarily shut it down to protect vendors and visitors during a surge in immigration raids across the Eastside.
The market has been closed for nearly a month, and for vendors, that’s a long time to be without work, said Vanessa Gutierrez, president of the El Sereno Night Market.
“I want it to be a great night for them,” Gutierrez said. “I want them to sell out and be able to support their families because … it’s now reached a point where it’s a necessity and they need to be out there to be making an income.”
Gutierrez said they were gearing up to reopen last Wednesday, but a cluster of raids in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles prevented them from doing so.
Leading up to this Wednesday, organizers have been spotlighting vendors who will be selling fried chicken, chocomiles, aguas frescas, hibachi, birria and more. “POWER IN NUMBERS” is emblazoned on the flier promoting the market. “Support our vendors. Protect our community,” it reads.
To Gutierrez, the market is more than just shopping and eating.
“My whole goal is to really rally the community … and just remind our vendors that they’re not alone, and that together, we’re powerful in numbers,” she added.
Gutierrez said the El Sereno Community Care Collective will be on the lookout for federal immigration agents as they patrol the radius of the market on foot. Local business owner Lalo Pineda, of 123 Graphix, will be selling T-shirts featuring art denouncing the raids. All proceeds of those sales will go toward a vendor support fund.
Gutierrez wants Wednesday to be “a moment of joy and celebration.”
“One thing I have been holding on to is my hope,” she said.
How to visit:
When: 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 4
Where: 4899 Huntington Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90032
For more: Visit the El Sereno Night Market Instagram page
Want to help? You can donate to the vendor support fund on Venmo