Visit Pittsburgh’s Premier Summer Spooky Market One More Time

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ALLENTOWN NIGHT MARKET/MAIN STREET ALLEGHENY

One of Pittsburgh’s popular festivals is returning for one last summer shindig. 

The Allentown Night Market, known for its mix of underground art, unconventional performances and eclectic shopping, will come to Allentown from 7 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 13. The market has long been a bi-annual event, with festivities in both June and October. Moving forward, however, it will transition to an annual event held in October. 

Organizers say the change stems from the event’s popularity and the crowds it has been drawing. What began in 2017 as a one-year anniversary party for The Weeping Glass — an oddities shop in Allentown that co-sponsors the event, along with the Hilltop Alliance — quickly grew into much more; while the first few markets saw an average of 300 attendees, recent markets have seen more than 3,500.

“With the scale the market has reached and the bandwidth required to produce it successfully, we want to ensure we can continue executing the market at the highest level possible for both attendees and vendors,” says Lexie Krieger, event and communications coordinator for the Hilltop Alliance. “Transitioning to an annual event allows us to be more intentional, sustainable and impactful in how we execute the market moving forward.”

Krieger adds that the market’s October date marks a “return to its roots,” and that there won’t be any changes to the market itself. In fact, it will give organizers room to curate and brainstorm new and exciting ideas.

“The October Night Market is actually the original version of the event,” she says, explaining that the response was so positive, organizers decided to host the event twice a year in 2019. “We never want to lose the plot of what made people fall in love with the Allentown Night Market in the first place, and we always want it to feel like the event people know and love — just a little better every year. Going back to once a year actually gives us more room to conjure up new ideas and lean further into the strange and unusual experiences we love creating.”

There’s also plenty of strange and unusual experiences to look forward to at the upcoming June market.

Spanning the 700 and 800 blocks of East Warrington Avenue, it will feature more than 150 artists, makers, oddity vendors, vintage collectors and alternative artisans, as well as live sideshow entertainment and DJs spinning goth, post-punk, garage, psych-rock and underground dance music throughout the neighborhood. 

Featured performers include DJ Allinaline, DJ Callisto, DJ & The Bear, DJ Krass Advert, The Stolen Stitches Sideshow, Traveling Entertainment, Lilith DeVille, Take Me With You and Eagleburger Band.

Vendors will be spread across four smaller markets. The Warrington Outdoor Market will feature Midsommar Madness, Stone Hard Force, Gravestone Girls and Atlas & Aether; the RE360 Warehouse Indoor Market hosts Bearded Viking, Artifact Metal Works and Kraken Apothecary; Walter Outdoor Market includes Bridge City Body Art, Weird Little Earrings and Back Alley Brewing; and Manton Outdoor Market hosts Skullbutter Art, Spider Bite Boutique and East End Brewing. (For the full list of extensive vendors, check out the market’s website.)

​In addition to the festivities, the Allentown Business District’s independent shops are open late with something special at each location for the evening’s event. Participating neighborhood businesses include Bottlerocket Social Hall, Grim Wizard Coffee, CJ Tattoo, Death Comes Lifting and Soil Sisters Plant Nursery. (For a full list of participating businesses, visit its website.)

Applications are also now open for the October 2026 market, and will remain open through July. Anyone interested in selling their spooky wares at the fall festival can apply here. 

Even if you can’t make it to the market in June or October, you’ll have more opportunities to shop and dine its carefully curated curiosities in the future. 

“It will be business as usual this October and in the Octobers to come,” Krieger says. “While we can’t predict the future, our plan is to keep going for as long as we’re able.”