900 students come together on Dallas Hall Lawn for a night of free food, live music, raffled prizes and more at Midnight Market.

“Midnight Market is just a time to try a bunch of different foods from around Dallas, have a good time – it’s all free – just eat and have fun,” sophomore Dan Lafferty said.

Like many others, Lafferty came to the Midnight Market to meet up with friends, eat some free food and have a good time. However, this was not Lafferty’s first rodeo.

The Midnight Market is hosted by Program Council on Dallas Hall lawn every fall semester. Lafferty was back for a second time as one of the many recurring visitors.

“I think the turnout this year was a little better,” Lafferty said. “A band and the lighting definitely upped the atmosphere a little bit. Definitely a big fan of this year.”

This year’s theme was Candyland with candy-colored balloon arrangements and customized Candyland cookies to help match the theme. There were candy stations carts around the market where students could stock up on some Halloween goodies. String lights hung from tent to tent, creating the impression of a starry night.

An enormous LED “Dallas” sign welcomed you at the entrance of the market. There were huddled groups of friends laughing, playing cornhole and dancing to the live cover band performing on a stage as students walked around Dallas Hall Lawn.

Even students unaware of the event could not help but get enticed into the event by the smell of food in the air.

There was a line of students waiting on Dallas Hall Lawn minutes within the event start time. Students consistently flooded in throughout the first hour of the event while vendors and Program Council members served food with a smile.

The food consisted of 11 vendors from all over Dallas with a variety of selections such as donuts, pies, pizza, tacos and more.

“We try to get a diversity of vendors, so we got half savory and half sweet,” Programming Chair Alice Mellon said.

Mellon was in charge of planning this year’s Midnight Market and said she wanted to offer a variety of options – including something for those who are lactose free such as tacos and chicken tenders. Her goal was to make sure every person had at least something they wanted to try.

The only issue is college students want more.

Jack Lucas, sophomore, said he enjoyed his first-time attending Midnight Market but would like more substantive food containing more meat next year. He joked about how the event was intended to be his dinner for the night.

The next Program Council event, Sing Song, will take place in April. To find out more about Program Council and its other events, click here.