Market Days Turns 25

(This article was written by Abigail Muniz-Garcia and was featured in the January 2026 issue of Explore Harlingen Magazine.)

Photo courtesy of Lisa Campos

June Ramirez remembers. She remembers how different downtown Harlingen looked when she opened the Antique & Artisan Emporium in 1991.

“There were a lot of buildings boarded up,” she said.

Back then, 25 years ago, business downtown wasn’t necessarily booming yet. That’s when a few local merchants and downtown business owners came up with an idea to get more foot traffic downtown: Market Days was born.

Photo courtesy of Downtown Harlingen

“Business had really dropped, you know and so we needed to get people downtown,” Ramirez, who is also a dedicated member of the Market Days Committee, said. “It’s been an adventure.”

For 25 years, one of the Rio Grande Valley’s (the “Valley’s”) most beloved and longest-standing community market traditions, Market Days, has made its mark. Jackson Street transforms into a buzzing outdoor marketplace where attendees can find anything from antiques to handmade goods, food trucks, artwork, live music, and much more. The energetic buzz of visitors and friendly vendors is something that attendees can surely look forward to. What began as a handful of vendors on Jackson Street between 4th Street and Commerce expanded to Centennial Park and W. Van Buren to accommodate another 80 vendors in 2021.

Photo courtesy of Downtown Harlingen

“About a year in, there were probably two blocks, which was maybe 20 vendors. It would depend on how many we could get in a block. And we started out doing two blocks here and two blocks there because we wanted merchants to be able to have the Market Days in front of their stores so it would bring more people,” Ramirez said. “But that’s how it started out.”

Now, Market Days boasts more than 160 vendors on the original Market Days side plus the Centennial Park expansion that Downtown Harlingen runs.

“We have vendors come and go,” Ramirez said. “But most of them have been here 25 years. You know it’s amazing that you can keep people for that long.”

Photo courtesy of Downtown Harlingen

Lorena Rodriguez of Silly Dillys, a pickle vendor, has been selling at Market Days for a year. She says she prefers this market over others in the Valley.

“We just recently turned about a year being a vendor there. That’s my favorite market to do… Market Days is always a hit,” she said.

Rodriguez and her husband Matthew, from Rio Hondo, are in the works of opening a storefront in Harlingen but don’t see themselves slowing down any time soon as they hope to stay on as vendors at Market Days as well.

“It’s very special because you see people from towns (from) all over the Valley here,” Rodriguez said.

Photo courtesy of Downtown Harlingen

Market Days has become more than just a shopping event – it’s where commerce meets community.

Market Days occurs monthly on the first Saturday of the month from 9 am to 3 pm. It is a family- and pet-friendly event and a platform for small businesses.

For information on becoming a vendor, see the registration link on the Downtown Harlingen page on Facebook, which is usually shared on the Monday after Market Days for the following month’s market. Call 956-216-5951 for questions on food truck spaces. Contact June Ramirez at 956-423-4041 with informational booth questions.