There will be no bustle of the Wednesday market this year on Oak Bay Avenue.
The annual market, traditionally held the second Wednesday of the month June through September, is a victim of space constraints amid a distanced world for 2021.
Heather Leary, organizer of the night market hosted by the Business Improvement Association, said she keeps hearing rumblings the patios are to blame. She insists those are not the hindrance, but space in general, and a need to police attendees.
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“It would be too popular to maintain safety protocols,” Leary said of the Oak Bay Village Night Market that draws hundreds of shoppers on a given night.
Last year the market shifted to a smaller manageable location behind municipal hall, but this year that space is unavailable, as renovations there are underway.
“I’m really hopefully by that time we’ll be able to do Christmas events. We’re really looking to the last quarter, with some optimism,” said Leary. The BIA, known as Oak Bay Village, hosts several large events a year, culminating with a holiday light up.
“In the interim, we’re excited to say we have nine patio spaces in the village,” Leary said, noting there are all sizes of patio and types of meals now available on The Avenue.
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