Stall owners of Wan Chai bazaar decry suspension of businesses on October 1 holiday

Stall owners of the Wan Chai “Waterfront Carnival” said on Thursday they have been notified not to run their businesses on October 1 in view of crowd control measures put in place for the firework display, adding that the decision is “ridiculous”.

The carnival is one of the highlights of the "Night Vibes Hong Kong" campaign, which comprises of food, music and dance performances, drone shows, game booths, as well as special workshops and art exhibitions.

Among the 90 vendors participating, 44 are cooked food stalls featuring Hong Kong-style food. The first phase of the carnival is set to run daily from 3pm to midnight until October 2, while food stalls will operate from 6pm to 11pm.

For the National Day holiday on October 1, the entire market will be open from 10am to 4pm.

Commenting on the arrangement, one stall owner Wang reflected that it is ironic not to allow them to run their food stalls on the night of October 1.

Wang, whose stall sells Taiwanese snacks, said the firework display is supposed to bring crowds to the carnival, and that the two events would complement each other.

Not allowing them to run their stalls would mean the owners could simply look at the fireworks that night, while people pass by their *closed*stalls.

Meanwhile, Wang also said the electricity issue at the carnival remains, with the organizer only able to provide a power supply of up to 1000W, which is insufficient for them to prepare Taiwanese snacks such as popcorn chicken and hu jiao bing, or pepper bun.

The stall could only sell beer with the limited electricity, he said.

He also noted that the electricity was only made available to them on the opening day, having no prior electricity for them to make preparations.