On a sunny afternoon, sellers set up booths filled with handmade goodies and trinkets, often made to represent cute characters or popular culture.
Soon, visitors gather to look at and buy products ranging from keychains to stickers to tote bags. There’s always something for everyone.
“It always blows my mind how many people here love K-Pop and anime,” said Mariam Pacheco, owner of Kira Kira Collectibles. “Since there’s so many fans here in Tucson, I think we should have something that caters to those fan bases.”
With a rise of K-Pop and anime fans in Tucson, themed vendor markets have also increased, encouraging the community to share their interests and helping small businesses connect with customers.
Kira Kira Collectibles, a local anime store in Tucson, regularly hosts vendor markets, where sellers gather to display and sell their products.
Events with themes of K-Pop groups like BTS and anime franchises like Sailor Moon have gained particular popularity in recent years.
“Hosting these events are fun,” Pacheco said. “There’s nothing in Tucson, so I thought, ‘Oh, I should start doing these events in Tucson.”
She started hosting markets in late 2022 after a trip to a vendor market in Phoenix.
She befriended local artists she wanted to bring to those events, noting how prominent the anime and K-Pop community was becoming.
”I don’t have to drive up every weekend to Phoenix. Every weekend I would go up for an event and it was a lot on me, so I wanted to bring the fun to Tucson,” she said.
Pacheco selects the theme by posting a call on Instagram, inviting the public to decide what character or movie should be represented next.
“I try to choose popular themes that everyone knows, like Pokémon or Miku,” she said. “I’ll ask my customers questions like, ‘What kind of market do you want to see next?’ And we decide based on the majority.”
Vendor events are hosted at local businesses like the Korean Rose, a Korean bubble tea shop.
“I love interacting with the community and getting to see people with similar interests,” said Assistant Manager Mav Gaudet. “Whenever these events come up, I always empty my wallet.”
Markets hosted at the Korean Rose are especially popular because of the decorated and colorful drinks they make to match the theme of the event – for example, for a Love and Deep Space fan cafe event, the workers made drinks like a lavender butterfly pea tea with lemonade and a yogurt smoothie with cotton candy cheese cream and crystal boba pearls.
Employees at the Korean Rose work with the hosts of the event to plan and create the drinks, Gaudet said.
“These events give us a lot of business, and we also help out the small business owners and artists, so it works both ways,” she said. “We usually double our revenue.”
Nicole McDonald, owner of SugarTeaJewels, said the events have also helped her grow as a salesperson. Without these markets, her business would not have thrived, she said.
“Getting to participate in these events while watching the cosplayers and performers do their thing is always a joy,” McDonald said.
Cosplay is when people dress up as their favorite characters, particularly from television shows or movies. The outfits range from minimalistic clothing to vibrant and colorful costumes.
McDonald said the events encourage Tucson’s wide community of anime and K-Pop fans to share a love for similar interests while also getting to network with other vendors.
“I have made so many new relationships with friends and members of the community, and it has helped me become more social,” she said. “Seeing returning customers makes me so happy.”
Upcoming events include a BTS themed market on Saturday, May 10 from 12 to 6 p.m. at the Korean Rose, 6118 E. Speedway Blvd., hosted by AZSpecialTea.
Information about the event can be found on Instagram at @azspecialtea.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
