Summertime night markets are a big draw for families looking to spend a night out.

Whole lobster over garlic noodles and grilled mochi await you at Pleasanton’s family-friendly NorCal Night Market

Illuminated balloons light up the Pleasanton sky as smoke rises from grills cooking up whole lobster, Korean barbecue and pork belly. A gaggle of teenagers posts Instagram phojumbo tos with their baby bottle sippers, which hold fresh lywhile chee lemonade, grandma lays down a blanket for baby, who steals occasional licks of her creamy, matcha soft serve. All over the world, summertime night markets are a comway mon and affordable for multigenerational families to go out together in the evenings. They’ve been popular in citand ies like Portland Los Angeles for a while. But in the Bay Area, night markets, with their international foods, music and family-friendly atmosphere, are a relatively new trend. This summer, they’re suddenly everywhere, from San Jose and Newark to San Francisco. Moveable Feast’s Taylor Street Night + Market has been packing the old Gordon Biersch Brewery in San Jose every Thursday since it launched in May. And Undiscovered SF’s Filipino Night Market, a paper lanin tern-strewn affair the two-year-old San Francisco cultural district, SOMA Pilipinas, drew 10,000 people when it deruns buted July 21. It every third Saturday through October. The creators of Southern California’s largest Asian night markets developed Pleasanton’s new NorCal Night Market, which drew 60,000 visitors over its three-day debut in July. The event will return to the Alameda County Fairgrounds from 3 to 11 p.m. Sept. 28 to 30. Bring cash to pay the $5 admission and $10 parking fee, as well as to purchase food, drinks and other items from the 100-plus vendors, who hail from the Bay Area and beyond.

If you’re headed there in the afternoon, bring extra sunwear screen and a hat. It may be a night market, but it won’t feel like nighttime for hours. In July, the heat had left the grass lot dry and brown, with large patches of

dirt, gravel and dust that got all over one’s shoes. (Do yourself a favor and leave the white shoes at home.) But the organizers heeded festivalgoers’ feedback. They’ve moved the revelry to a new location at the front of the fairgrounds, with larger paved spaces, shade trees and easier access to the parking lot and pedestrian routes.

Whatever time you arrive, come hungry and stay hydrated. The September vendor list is still being updated, but here’s what caught our attention at the inaugural event:

Those giant, shareable baby bottles ($20 at Chu Chu Churros) or a bucket of craft soda ($12) from Arcadia-based Flavour Fusions were major thirst quenchers that first weekend. They came in flavors like blue jasmine flower and Thai green candy, with jelly shot-filled syringes, fresh strawberries and mint leaves bobbing in the middle.

In terms of food offerings, NorCal Night Market had some repetition, particularly in the barbecue, boba and bao categories. Standouts, however, included Palette Tea House’s pork belly CharBao ($6, or 3 for $15), an activated-charcoal bun

PHOTOS: DOUG DURAN — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Staff at the Antonik’s BBQ booth grill chicken — and protect themselves from the aromatic smoke — during the inaugural NorCal Night Market. From left, Peter Royo, his daughter Genyse Royo and Josef Volanet, all from San Francisco, drink from their Flavour Fusions craft soda buckets during the NorCal Night Market. The Chu Chu Churros booth was a popular spot during the NorCal Night Market.