Greensburg Night Market builds on humble beginning for its 6th season

Jessica Hickey had just completed her first season as manager of the Greensburg Night Market in 2019 when she was struck by devastating news.

Her mother had suffered a brain aneurysm that would lead to her death in September of that year. In 2020, less than a year later, her father died from colon cancer.

Hickey said the sudden life changes and the grief that she was processing threw her into a depression. She had no energy for a new season of the night market, yet had no plans to pursue anything else.

“That was super rough,” Hickey said. “It took me a good year and a half to get my head on straight and be like, ‘all right, get it together.’ ”

From its relatively humble beginning of one block of food and craft booths five years ago and in the wake of her personal challenges, Hickey saw the night market expand to three blocks in its 2022 season. Thursday marks the second night market of the 2024 season and it has filled out to four blocks with more than 150 vendors and just over 40 sponsors.

The popular event falls under the wing of the Downtown Greensburg Project, an advertising agency Hickey, 36, of North Huntington, started in 2015 with her friend, Ashley Reefer. The night market was one of their first events and has become their most successful. They plan to expand the concept to sites in Philadelphia and Indiana later this year.

“There was a time where I was like, ‘I don’t even know what I’m doing. Maybe just get a real job,’ ” Hickey said Tuesday as she reviewed the latest vendor map. “And I’m glad I didn’t.”

Held the fourth Thursday of each month, April through November, except for Aug. 29, Sept. 19 and Nov. 13, the market draws attendees from across Western Pennsylvania and Hickey said that she’s also met visitors from Ohio and West Virginia. It begins at 5:30 and ends at 9 p.m. and has grown to draw thousands of people, some of whom are brought to Pennsylvania Avenue via shuttle bus from nearby Nicely Elementary School.

Some people, including Hickey, have concerns about how crowded the market can become.

“We get it. I’m overwhelmed with it sometimes,” Hickey said. “As long as the city wants it, it’ll still be here as long as I’m in this area.”

Slippery Rock grad

Hickey started the night market with experience in event planning she gained after she graduated from Slippery Rock University in 2010 with a degree in communications and a minor in graphic design and business.

“It just sort of happened, you know? I was in marketing, doing social media and stuff for a couple of jobs that I worked for — that was what I thought I was going to go into,” Hickey said. “And then it just happened to be that this just sort of fell into my lap.”

When it first started, Hickey handled all of the social media and public relations processes herself. Now, she commissions logos and graphics, and manages the team of part-time employees. The event has built a reputation such that other local markets reach out to her for advice, she said.

Hickey’s constant desire for improvement inspires her staffers. She’s employed 11 students from Seton Hill University to help with market operations each month.

One of those students is Sarah Minghini, a rising Seton Hill University senior and Hickey’s only assistant. Minghini, 21, is graduating early from Seton Hill in December with a double major in communications and a minor in political science and global studies.

Like Hickey, Minghini said that she has learned and grown from working for Hickey the last three years.

“(Jessica) is amazing as a boss,” Minghini said. “She has just taught me so much about working in the field.”

Reefer, Downtown Greensburg Project’s co-founder, said that Hickey is “extremely hardworking and incredibly creative.”

Though Reefer now owns her own business — Flat Tire Co. Bike Shop in Greensburg — she fully supports Hickey in her business endeavors.

“Greensburg is lucky to have her,” Reefer said.

Attention to detail

Hickey said she takes her time organizing the markets, ensuring that each vendor is bringing something unique. Products range from jewelry to soaps to exotic dishes from other cultures.

The process of qualifying for vendor status is rigorous, and Hickey sets aside an entire month to select candidates.

“We want a really cool variety,” she said. “We don’t want you to see everything you’re seeing at all the other markets or other events you try.”

Everything at the market is homemade, and vendors must come prepared for a quick and chaotic setup. Vendors are given a one to three hour window to construct and stock their stalls in deference to the market’s crowded atmosphere and city regulations.

“That’s just how it is, you know?” Hickey said. “We’ve had people drop because of it, and there’s no hard feelings at all.”

Taking the time to plan out the details is essential to ensuring the market’s success, she said and after years of trial and error, she is proud of what it has become.

“The whole point of (Downtown Greensburg Project) and even the night market was to support small businesses and bring people into town to support the city,” Hickey said. “And I think we’re accomplishing that.”

Hickey devotes her free time to researching other markets. Last year, she took a trip to Europe to study Christmas market layouts and vendors.

“I always want things to look better,” Hickey said. “I’m always trying to make changes to make things better.”

At its core, Hickey said that the night market has become just one of many projects that she’s hoping will promote small businesses.

In total, Downtown Greensburg Project hosted 28 events this year. Hickey has received several requests to start doing two night markets in the city each month, but for her, holding more than one is unrealistic.

She is planning a Saturday night market at St. Clair Park in the city next year, and she’s currently running the Greensburg craft beer week and a beer festival.

“You try something out to see if it’s going to work — I try a bunch of different things to see what works — and this one just kinda stuck,” Hickey said.

For her, the Greensburg Night Market is more than just her work — it’s her opportunity to uplift her community, and use her own skills to help others.

“(Downtown Greensburg Project) and night market is not about me,” Hickey said. “It’s about the small business that we support and the small businesses that we hope to help through the markets and promotions.”