Buckingham Township's inaugural Night Market packed Holicong Park on Tuesday, Aug. 11, with nine food trucks, 16 market vendors and 11 community partners drawing families to an evening event the township said exceeded organizers' expectations.

The market ran from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and featured local food vendors including Skips Kitchen, Bonjour Creperie, Top Dog Hot Dogs, Local Harvest Pizza, Smokestack's BBQ, Kona Ice, Sloby Ice Cream, Travelin' Toms Coffee and Free Spirit mocktails. Farm and artisan vendors ranged from Hollow House Farms and Hundred Fruit Farm to Calico Bread, Sugarbottom Hemp and Philly Pretzel Factory.

Two more Night Markets are now confirmed: Friday, Aug. 28, and Friday, Sept. 25, both 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Holicong Park.

Lisa Braud, a Parks and Recreation Commission member who owns Hollow House Farm at Dark Hollow and Swamp Roads, organized the series. In a July 31 Patch article, Braud explained the evening format: "We wanted to find a way to get people into the parks, engage the community and connect them with our local farms and businesses. We wanted to do our own type of farmer's market, but we didn't want to compete with the existing markets. So we made it in the evening."

The concept grew out of a May 27 Board of Supervisors work session, where Braud described it as a blend of Buckingham Day in the Park and Police National Night Out. Supervisor Mike Bateman, the board's liaison to the Parks and Recreation Commission, championed the idea and said before the debut that the market would be unlike anything the township had offered before.

The township's official recap described the park as alive with music, food and community energy throughout the evening. Free activities included bounce houses, face painting, balloon art, Action Karate demonstrations and Cub Pack 169 activities, with live music by RJ Acoustic Performance.

A food drive for the Bucks County Housing Group collected non-perishable donations during the event. Three sponsors underwrote the market: Bucks County Orthodontics, Lakeside Custom Homes & Renovations and Fred Beans Auto Group.

The Public Works Department, volunteer fire companies and the Parks and Recreation Commission staffed the evening. The next Night Market is Friday, Aug. 28, at Holicong Park, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.