APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) – A new event made its debut in Appleton Friday night.

Dozens of vendors, food trucks, and live entertainers packed College Avenue and Houdini Plaza for the inaugural ‘Light the Night’ event. It was a celebration of the diverse interests of the people in the city.

Neo Medina was one of the vendors at the event. He’s a spray painter and has created several murals throughout the city.

“Art was my first voice, I’m from a marginalized population so art was the ticket for me to speak about things,” said Medina.

People’s passions were on display throughout the night, everything from art to music to the more obscure like aerial arts and fire performers. One group even brought out some snakes.

“Just in this small block we’re in we have all kinds of good smelling food, neat art, crafts and the snake people are always next to us,” said Julia Martinson who is the co-owner of Fly Circus and Aerial Arts in Appleton.

For Emily Bolstad and other with the Northeast Wisconsin Chinese Association, the Light The Night Market was an opportunity to show off their culture. They organized traditional Chinese dances such as dragon and lion dances.

“We want to present a culture that isn’t very known in Wisconsin, display our culture and for the people to be able to enjoy it,” said Bolstad.

The chilly May weather didn’t stop thousands of people from coming out to downtown Appleton to enjoy the night.