A Night Market With a Mission: Bazar À La Carte Takes Over Tempus Projects
by Avery Anderson
On Nov. 22, Ybor City isn’t just hosting a market — it’s hosting a movement.
Gainesville’s beloved night market Bazar À La Carte has been on a statewide road trip for the past four months, stitching together creative communities from North Florida to the southern coast. Now, it’s Tampa Bay’s turn as the roaming cultural engine pulls into Tempus Projects for one night only — and everything about it screams why now.
Because in a moment when small creators are squeezed by algorithms, shipping fees, and whatever chaos is happening at Amazon HQ this week, Bazar À La Carte is making a different kind of pitch: buy from people, not platforms. Build community, not carts. Turn a Saturday night into a third place — not a third tab open on your phone.
Event co-producer Laila Fakhoury puts it plainly:
“We want to create local sales that support creators in each community we visit. For each market, 90% of our vendor spots are reserved for vendors from the cities that we're visiting.”
This isn’t a pop-up. It’s a philosophy.
And it’s arriving just in time, as Tampa Bay’s creative scene — especially queer, BIPOC, and independent artists — continues to fight for visibility, opportunity, and safe spaces.
A Market That Moves Like a Block Party, Not a Mall
Tempus Projects will spill open into indoor and outdoor spaces, two patios, and a balcony overlooking Seventh Avenue. More than 30 makers from Tampa and St. Pete will anchor the vibe, but the event is intentionally more than a shopping corridor.
Think:
– Mahjong in a mood-lit speakeasy by Red-Eye Mahjong
– A black box micro-cinema reborn as an open mic lounge
– A live cypher hosted by BeatsnChill
– Sewing and ceramics workshops
– DJ collectives like ¡SAMBA! and sector.fm taking over booths
– Artist studios at Tempus Projects opening their doors — all 35 of them
Cave Printing will be screen printing in real time, a group visual art show curated by Cato G will take over the walls, Arkive Media will be on site documenting the night, and The Sapphic Sun and Queer Expressions St. Pete are bringing conversation cards and creative stations to keep the energy collaborative, not transactional.
Add vegan dishes by R&Vegan and My Hungry Vegan and a bar takeover by For the Girls — and suddenly this looks less like a market and more like Tampa Bay’s creative ecosystem in full bloom.
“Our art, our joy, our passion… are forms of resistance.”
One of the night’s anchors comes from event organizer Kay Rose, who will lead a zine-making station rooted in queer, trans, BIPOC and Indigenous creativity.
Rose doesn’t mince words about why this matters right now:
“For marginalized, underserved and underrepresented communities, I feel like our hope is being tested. Every day, we’re hearing news about how things are getting so much worse and more dangerous. Our very existence is under attack.”
Their response: build joy anyway. Build safety anyway. Build spaces where belonging isn’t a bonus — it’s the baseline.
“Our art, our joy, our passion and our community-building are forms of resistance, and they restore some of that hope.”
Bazar À La Carte makes that resistance not just visible, but communal.
Tickets, Timing, and the Afterparty
📍 Tempus Projects, Ybor City
🗓️ Saturday, Nov. 22, 6–11 PM
🎟️ Advance tickets: $5 at thehowbazar.com (prices rise closer to the event; space is limited)
And for the night owls:
The party continues until 2 a.m. at LARA Apothecary Bar & Bazaar, just down the street.
Why This One Matters
Because local makers deserve more than a table.
Because community deserves more than a venue.
Because Tampa Bay deserves nights that feel like possibility.
As Fakhoury says, “Bazar À La Carte is a platform that aims to bring community together in order to create and legitimize a local alternative economy.”
And for one night in Ybor City, that alternative economy looks like a future worth building.