Strands of fairy lights welcomed visitors into a room full of vendors selling food and goods at the Asian Pacific American Culture Center’s first ever night market. Various clubs, organizations and businesses from Colorado State University and the Fort Collins area comprised the market that was held 5-7 p.m. Nov. 13. at the Mary Ontiveros House.

Planned by APACC’s Cross-Cultural Coordinator Nicole Vicente and South Asian Coordinator Dipshikha Khadka, the event was inspired by Asian night markets that can be traced back as early as the Tang Dynasty. With hopes that the community may again host a night market, the organizers said the goal of the event was to bring together a variety of clubs and businesses to mix different cultures and people.

“We’re hoping that this event will become a bigger thing (and) that it’ll become more of a high-priority event,” Vicente said.

Clubs such as CSU’s Community for Climate Anxiety, which recently received recognition as a student organization, used the night market as an opportunity to promote its group.

“Since we are officially a student organization now, we’re just mainly focusing on expanding our reach as a club because we’re a bit of a small group right now,” said Brady Knutson, an officer of the group.

The group sold leftover homemade earrings that were created for a recent fundraiser. Selling for $5 a piece, the earrings were created from bottle caps and soda tabs. Combined with the money from the recent fundraiser, profits from the earrings will go toward buying can openers for FoCo Cafe, a local nonprofit.

Student organizations drew attendees to the social and welcoming atmosphere of the event, said Dominic Nabayan, a first-year student who came to visit the Filipino Culture Club.

“I like working with them … and going to their stuff,” Nabayan said. “I knew that there were going to be lots of cool things with them and cool stuff with other local businesses that I wanted to support.”

Circle K International at CSU, represented by president Valyn Highley, also used the market as an opportunity to advertise its group. Visitors at Highley’s booth could pick up free ramen as well as donate to the United Nations Children’s Fund to help build schools in Africa.

“Anything that we can do to introduce Asian traditions into Fort Collins is really our mission.” –Mia Umanos, community member

Highley said she learned about the market through an email. Through collaborations between Khadka, who worked on outreach, and Vincente, who worked on logistics such as poster making and emailing, the event was sent out to all student organizations and promoted through RamLink and Instagram. Some local businesses also reached out through Instagram asking to be included in the market.

Efforts such as these brought in attendees such as Camille Fowler, a senior at CSU.

“I saw (the market) on the APACC newsletter,” Fowler said. “I always want to get the most out of my tuition, and (I) also like exploring new things.”

Not only was the market an opportunity for student organizations at CSU to promote their clubs, but organizations and businesses local to Fort Collins also ran booths at the market.

The Fort Collins International Center, which works with CSU’s Office of International Programs, was part of the market. The nonprofit aims to enhance “international understanding, cultural exchange and friendship,” according to its website.

International Night and Outdoor Program Chair Mark Oberschmidt shared his motto for the group: “We bring the world to Fort Collins, and then we send Fort Collins back out to the world.”

“We’re a lot of volunteers in the community,” said Ruth Fox, another member of the Fort Collins International Center. “Many of us have lived overseas, and we just really enjoy meeting (international visitors) and making them feel welcome in the community. We want them to learn to love Fort Collins and Colorado and take it home with them when they go back.”

The group also promotes themselves at other CSU events, such as the World Unity Fair. 

Barkada Market, a local pop-up shop, fostered a lively scene at the market through a Mahjong table, karaoke and a ramen library, where visitors of the pop-up could get free ramen in exchange for following the market’s Instagram and signing up for its newsletter. The ramen library was an effort to grow the pop-up that started in September 2025.

“We call ourselves purveyors of Asian culture,” said Mia Umanos, a representative of the pop-up. “Anything that we can do to introduce Asian traditions into Fort Collins is really our mission.”

Through a guest book, the group aimed “to understand what products people are interested in, … so that we can build our store around what the people ask for,” Umanos said.

Attendees of the market could also indulge themselves in snacks and hot drinks as well as crafts, such as fan and lantern decorating.

Reach Chloe Rios at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.