The people of Atlanta were invited to Taste the World at the first Atlanta International Night Market, held on November 3-5.

The concept for this special event was actually inspired by the incredible outdoor markets found throughout Europe and Asia. These night markets are social gatherings where food and retail vendors offer a wide variety of dining and shopping options.

Plus, there’s entertainment, which makes for a night of tons of family-friendly fun. Sounds like the perfect place for a Socialite by Nite. Apparently, it was the perfect place for a lot of Atlantans because over 75,000 people attended the event!

There were over 200+ vendors at the AINM, so it’s a good thing that this event occurs over 3 days. You’ll need all that time to explore (and devour) everything! The admission price for the entire event was only $10 ($5 per day)…super affordable, right? YES!

The Market was separated into various villages for attendees to explore during their visit:

• Artist Village is a juried art festival inside the Night Market featuring unique, handmade arts and crafts from international artists.
• The Kid-Zone Village is packed with exciting activities for kids, featuring cultural games, imaginative arts and crafts, kid-friendly foods, and many stimulating activities that will provide an awesome experience for your little ones.
• The Specialty Drinks & Desserts Village features delicious drinks and desserts from around the world.
• Veggie Village is a vegan festival inside the Night Market. This village is truly a plant-based food lover’s dream come true! Meet our vegan artists, performers, and chefs, and experience a diverse array of mouth-watering dishes from across the globe.
• The International Beer Village will feature a huge selection of beers from around the world as well as local craft breweries.

AINM is family-friendly…but there were also adults-only options if you wanted to get away from the kiddos for a bit. The VIP Experience (only $50) on Friday night offered a special speedpass entry option, open bar, hors d’oeuvres, a VIP seating area in front of the main stage, and so much more! There was also a special free Night Market Lounge with a cash bar and VIP area on Saturday and Sunday. In other words, this is a great event for date night.

It’s so hard to capture the amount of food, fun, and festivities that went on at the AINM. That’s why you HAVE to check it out for yourself when it returns.

As a 501(c)3 non-profit, the AINM Foundation’s “Taste the World” message is one of celebrating diversity, inclusion, community & culture with the goal of opening the hearts and minds of participants to embrace the diversity of the human family. AINM believes that learning about other culture’s food, performances, games, and traditions is an important way that we can help bring about real positive change in our global community.

That gives this fun event even more importance. Our Atlanta-area community as well as the world as a whole is so diverse. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to embrace the beauty of our differences and enjoy the things that bring us all together no matter our origins. Kudos to the AINM Foundation for an incredible weekend! I can’t wait for the next one.