The 208 Night Market is a highlight event for food and community in Nampa for the last three summers. With thousands of attendees and more than one hundred vendors, you can dig into the char of grilled asada and satisfy your thirst for an agua fresca.
Just 20 minutes west of Boise, every Friday and Saturday night, you can find people of all ages filling a large gravel field on the outskirts of town. What brings them out?
“The experience, the vendors, the people you meet, the food you try. It’s always different every week, so you can never go wrong with that,” said Sergio Acuña.
Acuña is the owner of Salsas Chaparita, a business specializing in traditional salsa known for its peanut flavor from the southern part of Zacatecas, Mexico. He has been vending at the 208 Night Market since it started three years ago.
“Last year, when the raids first started, it did decline a lot of customers. It’s slowly been growing again, but hopefully everyone just starts coming out and hopefully won’t be scared anymore,” said Acuña.
Last October, more than 200 local, state, and federal officers stormed La Catedral Arena horse racing track in Wilder. More than 400 people were detained, and 110 were arrested for immigration violations. Five were charged with federal gambling charges, the stated motivation for the raid.
The crackdown got national attention, and fears still linger for attending large gatherings around the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
There haven't been documented ICE sightings at the 208 Night Market, but we wanted to know if there were fears about attending a gathering celebrating Idaho’s Latino community.
“We live in Meridian, the Latino culture’s kinda lacking there. So we came here to get some good food and good company around,” said Collin.
Collin and his wife, Karla Lopez, just moved from California. They said they worried about ICE because of her previous mixed status.
“My wife is an American citizen now, but initially, she was a dreamer, so she was undocumented from Mexico. So in particular, she felt very unsafe,” he said.
Lopez said she still worries about other people who might be undocumented.
In Idaho, Hispanics make up about 13% of the population. In the past decade, it has increased by about 25%.
“Pues la verdad es que estar aquí siempre es como que es parte fundamental y trabajar así como lo estamos haciendo, pues termina apoyando la comunidad,” said Darielt Silva, a vendor for Chilakillas.
He said despite the fears around ICE, showing up is how he’s supporting his community.
“No se ha visto mucho de eso por aquí, ¿verdad? Pero siempre es como ... está bien estar alerta de lo que pueda suceder,” said Silva.
He said people don’t feel on edge about immigration agents, but it’s good to be alert because anything can happen.
“We all come down here knowing that ICE can’t shut us up,” said Anaiy Ruiz, a worker at the Taste of the Caribbean. She saids the fear of raids won’t bring down what unites people together.
“You know when you eat your abuela’s food, and you feel the warmth and the smiles and the memories,” said Ruiz.
That connection is more than just food for her. It’s the overall vibe that the 208 Night Market brings to Latinos in the Treasure Valley.
“We love it here; we love the people, the music, seeing people come around tasting our food. Seeing the smiles on their faces, it just warms our hearts,” she said.
It’s also a place where "we Hispanic people come to party, it’s lit here,” said Ruiz.
For vendors like Ruiz, Silva and Acuña, the 208 Night Market feels like a home. It’s a place where you can find food, music and people you love. It’s that same feeling that brings people back every Friday and Saturday night.
“You are welcome wherever you are,” Ruiz said.
