OCEANSIDE -- In an attempt to 'grow' downtown Oceanside's night life, a local merchant's group is launching a Thursday-evening farmer's market this summer.

The year-round night market will have a more festive feel than the existing morning market and will feature numerous craft booths, hot meals and live entertainment, according to organizers.

"We have an extraordinary opportunity to create a vibrant, vivacious downtown market near the beach," said Kim Heim, the executive director of MainStreet Oceanside, a nonprofit organization that promotes the the downtown and will run the market.

The City Council voted 4-1 last month to contribute $100,000 toward street improvements and startup costs for the night market near the pier. Councilwoman Esther Sanchez questioned giving the money to MainStreet, but the rest of the council members said the market could help revitalize the downtown area.

The weekly event will be the first evening market in North County and will run from 5 to 9 p.m. on Pier View Way, from Coast Highway to Cleveland Street, and on Tremont Street, from Mission Avenue to Civic Center Drive.

"This will definitely help people rediscover downtown Oceanside," said Kathy Baker, the city's redevelopment director. "The market is going to create a real family-oriented experience every Thursday."

More than just produce

The evening market will have about 130 booths and would be about three times as large as the farmers market that MainStreet runs every Thursday morning on Pier View Way next to City Hall, Heim said.

He said the organization will continue to operate the morning market, which attracts between 2,000 and 3,000 shoppers each week and averages about $18,000 worth of weekly sales.

Many of the vegetables, flowers and craft vendors in the morning could have booths at the evening market, but Heim said the night event will "be quite different than the morning market."

Heim said the night event will offer more crafts, baked goods and hot meals, and will include activities or play equipment for children.

The night event will also have five open areas where local singers, poets, dancers, jugglers and musicians will perform, and Heim said high school and college groups could put on shows at the weekly market.

To draw people to the market, the city and MainStreet plans to string festival lights across the streets and hang banners on the light posts advertising the weekly event.

Heim and city officials said they developed the ideas for the event after looking at successful evening markets in Palm Springs, Monterey and San Luis Obispo.

This fall, San Luis Obispo will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its Thursday evening downtown farmers market, said Diana Cotta, who is with the San Luis Obispo downtown association.

She said as many as 10,000 people come to the market, which features booths of local nonprofit organizations, tasty treats, fresh produce and entertainment ranging from puppeteers to gymnasts.

"It's one place people can get everything," Cotta said. "The key to evening market is to have the right atmosphere where people want to come to the downtown."

Changing downtown

Oceanside's downtown beach area near the pier is in the midst of a transformation. Towering high-end time shares and condominium complexes are under construction next to laundry mats, barber shops and military-supply stores that have been there dozens of years.

Large public parking lots in the area are slated to be developed with a five-star resort and a mix of shops, condominiums and restaurants.

MainStreet and city officials said the evening market will bring more services and goods to residents and visitors in the new condominium and vacation complexes while bringing more customers to existing area-businesses.

Most business owners and residents last week said they supported plans for the night market, though several had concerns about parking and access to their stores. The market will take away about 100 street parking spots on Thursday, but city officials said that one 450-space public parking garage is built and one is planned for the area.

Donna Tompkins of ABC Laundry, which is located on Tremont, said city officials didn't discuss the night-market idea with her and that she has concerns about closing the street in front of her business.

Jacquie Soma of Pacific Pottery, which is right next to ABC Laundry on Tremont, said the market sounded like a great idea.

"Anything that brings more business here is great with us," Soma said. "It will definitely be a plus."

Several residents, and visitors shopping during the daytime market last week said an evening event would give them another reason to spend money in the downtown area.

"Having more entertainment and food would attract a lot more people," said Dennis Luebkin, a resident of Arizona who saw the daytime market while vacationing in Oceanside.

Having the market on Thursday could also encourage some vacationers to arrive in Oceanside on Thursday instead of Friday, and would encourage them to stay an extra night in town, Heim said.

He said residents throughout San Diego County in the coming years could hop on the Sprinter or Coaster after work and ride the trains to the Oceanside transit center, located only a few blocks from the market.

Baker, the redevelopment director, said Oceanside may consider starting a trolley or shuttle to the downtown area that people could use to reach the market.

"Once this event gets rolling it has the potential to draw people from all over," Baker said.

Market sustainability

Councilwoman Sanchez said she supports the idea of an evening market, but that she has concerns with city giving MainStreet $100,000 in market startup costs, adding that the organization needs to find other ways to cover its own expenses.

The city has contributed nearly $600,000 to MainStreet since it began in 2000, according to Heim. He said the organization has an annual budget of about $300,000 that it uses to hold events and promotions downtown.

Heim said the evening market could help generate revenue to pay for staff, office space and other events such as a Fourth of July street fair.

The morning market generated about $22,000 for the organization last year, said Heim, who added that an evening market could bring in more money as its popularity grows.

He said the organization will hire a market manager next month who will be in charge of finding a wide variety of quality vendors and booths.

"We want this to be something for everyone in Oceanside," Heim said. "We want it to be genuinely Oceanside and make a connection with the broader community."

Contact staff writer David Sterrett at (760) 901-4067 or dsterrett@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.