National First: SF’s Pilipina Cultural District’s Night Market

Another first is happening here in San Francisco, the cultural celebration hub of the U.S. The first Pilipina cultural district in the nation is going from legislative approval to concrete reality with the establishing and funding of a Pilipina night market. The market will be open the third Friday of every month, and is occupying the vintage Mint Building in the SOMA area.

Last year the SF supervisors approved the establishment of a Pilipina cultural district in SOMA, and recently gave a $150,000 grant to SOMA Pilipinas, with $130,000 of the grant going to funding the night market. One of SOMA’s many fames is as a major starting-place for new incomers from the Philippines.

The grand plan of the Pilipina community in SOMA is to attract back to the neighborhood Filipino-American families and entrepreneurs that have moved to other areas of the SF Bay Area or elsewhere. “Night markets will showcase artists and vendors that represent the emerging culture of Filipino-Americans involved in music, visual arts, fashion, design, retail, food, technology, social activism, and health and wellness,” Ellen Canale, chief deputy director of communications for the mayor’s office—as reported by Hoodline.