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Thursday, March 28, 2024

A Popportunity market is held Oct. 24 at Starlight Square in a still from a promotional video, now evolving into a regular weekend winter market.

The Starlight Square performance space is going away so local retailers can take center stage.

The outdoor complex was built in a city-owned Central Square parking lot with performance as a centerpiece, and was announced as staying open August through October. But with the city extending the Central Square Business Improvement District’s lease for Municipal Lot 5, colder weather makes it harder for people to sit for the length of a show put on by the Central Square Theater, Dance Complex or ImprovBoston comedy club.

Instead, the winter market known as Popportunity is coming back for the winter, said Nina Berg, creative director for the Business Improvement District. The plan is to be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays from Nov. 28 (Small Business Saturday, in the holiday season shopping calendar) through Dec. 20.

“We’re in the process of stripping the interior stage space to make room,” Berg said. Along with the replacement selling spaces, the BID is setting up “extremely mini storefronts – lockable wooden stalls – on the exterior to create a mini Mass. Ave. of sorts.”

Artists, makers, and retailers can apply for a 10-by-10 market tent or a 5-by-8 mini stall for free at the Covid-safe, outdoor winter market, thanks to financial support from the City of Cambridge, BID and other community partners, according to online materials. A seller’s run at Popportunity can be as short as a single scheduled day, and while vendors must handle their own shelving. lights are provided.

Applications are at starlightsquare.org/popportunity.