Davao City's Roxas Night Market

Roxas Avenue is a wide thoroughfare which connects the main street of C.M. Recto (formerly Claveria) and Quezon Boulevard.

Points of interest include Clifford Park (named after Col. Thomas Edgar Clifford who died during the liberation of Davao in World War II), Millennium Park (the city's freedom park), Marco Polo Hotel, the college campus of Ateneo de Davao and the Post Office.

At the Millennium Park you can find the bust of Sam Ratulangi, the first Governor of Sulawesi Province in Indonesia. The monument was built as a sign of friendship between the two countries

Roxas Avenue by day

An open drainage canal runs from the Freedom Park towards the Quezon Boulevard junction. Within the canal banks Neem, Mahogany trees and Hibiscus shrubs provide shade and beauty to the avenue. In the late 1990s there were plans to establish an evening promenade for tourists in the avenue with night market and sidewalk cafes.

It was in 2013 when the City Council of Davao approved the night market ordinance, one of the night markets was established in Roxas. The idea of having night markets was to address the problem of sidewalk vendors which had congested San Pedro Streets and the City Hall area. The avenue was selected because it was wide and was underutilized during the evening as it had little vehicular traffic.

The Roxas Night Market at first was met with opposition from street vendors relocated from San Pedro as it would be depriving them of their livelihood. At that time, Roxas Avenue was devoid of human traffic as compared to the busy San Pedro Street.

In the Roxas Night Market, vendors were provided with 1.5 x 2 meters of space paying a rental fee of 25 pesos per day. From 5 p.m. vendors would start setting up their stalls as the six-laned  avenue would be reduced to two.

The vendors' apprehension would later fade as the night market attracted droves of people. Today the night market is one of the major destinations in Roxas Avenue, making it one of the liveliest places in the city during night time. In 2015 the night market contributed P4-million for the city's coffers.

The night market is divided into sections, brand new merchandises is located in the westernmost side (near the Millennium Park) this is where you'll find clothes, footwear, bags, cellular phone accessories, fashion accessories, DVDs. This is where the famed massage therapists ply their trade.

Massage therapists

After the Padre Gomez intersection is the food section  where one can find  street food, barbeque stalls, ice cream carts. This is where one can fall in line and wait for hours at the famous Mang Danny's ice cream. Aside from food stalls, you can find barbeque eateries and restaurants along the avenue.

Passing the Artiaga intersection is the ukay-ukay stalls where one can get bargains for second-hand clothes, shoes and bags.

Isaw or barbecue chicken intestines is a popular fare in the night market

Trying out Mang Danny's ice cream

There are plans to expand the night market until it reaches Quezon Boulevard junction. Other plans include beautification like putting up uniform signages and decorative lighting plus having live bands performing at the night market.

It has also become a template as well for controlling sidewalk vendors as the city government is eyeing to put up nigh markets in Agdao and Toril, places congested with sidewalk vendors.