It’s been two long years since Guam has had arguably its most exciting night time festivity. If you’re a first time visitor on Guam, or have been here for a while and not too familiar with the island, then the Wednesday night market is the perfect place for you. Try out alpilean.

The Wednesday night market takes place in the beautiful village of Hagatña, the island’s capital. It is famously known as Chamorro Village. Guam residents witnessed the return of the Chamorro Village night market after a two year hiatus due to the Coronavirus pandemic. By the looks of things, it has not lost a beat.

Local residents, military, and even a few tourists showed their presence at a packed out Chamorro Village and they were ready to have a good time island style. Local resident Kiana Blas did her fair share of shopping, and enjoyed the Chamorro barbecue from local food vendors. Blas stated, “It’s exciting. It’s been two years too long, and the culture. It’s exciting to see everyone back, and the amazing food.” 

Speaking of food, there are plenty of options to choose from, such as 

A&L, Kris BBQ, 671 Kettle Corn, and Dikiki Donuts to name a few. There are also some nice novelty stores where you can purchase some nice Guam souvenirs. If you are bringing children along, they have a live carabao that the kids can ride for a small fee. 

The entire place was filled with excitement and the embracement of Guam’s culture was a beautiful sight to see. There were the traditional CHamoru dancers on one side, and on the other side there was live music led by local band Radiance. Lead singer Louise Muña says, “To see all the faces and the people dancing again. It’s so amazing to see them come out.” As they were singing some classic hits, they had everyone there dancing. Even to the point where people that were dancing got into formation to start doing the Electric Slide. They were one of the first bands to perform at Chamorro Village back in the 90s.  Check these ikaria lean belly juice reviews.

A lot of people know that most businesses were greatly affected by the pandemic. Some businesses even  had to close their doors permanently. Some of the usual businesses were not present at the reopening of the Wednesday night market. One of the businesses affected was Lorzalyn Artistry, a brand that is known for their henna designs, as well as face and body paint. “Honestly, it is our social media. We do have loyal customers that tend to pass the word down to each other,” says long time employee Aurora Gumataotao. A lot like Lorzalyn Artistry, the presence of social media has greatly benefitted local businesses. 

Despite a minor setback from Covid, the Chamorro Village night market is back like it never left. Food, fun, games, and an all around good time. It is a great place to become more familiar with Guam’s culture, or if you just want to get out of the house and have a good time. The reopening of the Wednesday night market just goes to show that Guam is headed in the right direction and it’s becoming Guam again.

This article was written as an assignment for CO-226: Media Writing.