Warming up for this week’s concert at Stanford Stadium, fans of the Korean band BTS from across the world shared collective excitement at a pop up vendor market hosted Sunday in Palo Alto.
BTS — the Bangtan Boys — is a band formed in 2010 consisting of seven members. The group is set to perform Tuesday after two weekend shows at Stanford Stadium.
The market event featured seven vendors, selling merch from woven rugs to embroidered hats to hand-drawn stickers.
According to event host Natasha Valiente, the pop-up — put together by an organization called Mikrocollective, which is dedicated to hosting similar BTS concert add-on events — attracted more than 300 people Sunday.
Valiente said that handling all the logistics required a lot of planning ahead of time.
“The planning was more than this event,” Valiente said. “We [Mikrocollective] host event markets and parties in every U.S. city for the BTS tour. A lot of the time it’s pretty intensive because we are hosting 20 plus events. Usually, the most difficult part is securing a venue. We actually started planning in January and secured all the 20 venues by February or March.”
Valiente said the overarching mission for the organization is to bring BTS fans — collectively known as “Army” — together in a welcoming community.
“Our biggest goal is to create an inclusive space for Army,” Valiente said. “A lot of Army are really introverted and a lot of their friends are mostly online, so when they come to events like this, we don’t want them to feel a lot of pressure to fit in.”
According to Valiente, events like this accommodate a wide range of audiences and also aim to give back to the communities hosting the concert.
“We cater to Army of different ages, and especially to Army that travel out of state,” Valiente said. “Our goal as a whole is to enrich the neighborhoods that we come to for the events and the businesses that are here too for supporting us.”
Jerodelle Trinidad, a vendor at the market, said her journey as a creator blossomed from attending her first event.
“I’ve been doing it [tabling] since 2022, and I started because I had no other friends in real life that like K-pop,” Trinidad said. “I went to my first cup-sleeve event, and then somebody asked me if I was interested in hosting my own, so I collaborated with them and then got addicted to getting to know people and being in the community. Next thing I know, I’m vending every weekend, and I started creating merch.”
According to Trinidad, the booth attracted fans from across the world.
“Army did show up — my booth got wiped out,” Lee said. “It was really cool to see the community come together, and it’s not just local. A lot of people traveled here, so that speaks volumes for sure.”
Rosalind Tsai, a junior from Mountain View High School, said the event helped her reconnect with a long-distance friend.
“My main reason for attending this event is because it provides an excuse to meet up with a friend I hadn’t seen in a while,” Tsai said. “Both of us are going to BTS’ final concert at the Stanford stop so this was a way for us to sit down and catch up right before the main event.”
Tsai said that she enjoyed walking around the market and seeing fans from all different backgrounds.
“This event has enabled me to see the kind faces behind these Army gathering initiatives, which is something I’m so grateful for,” Tsai said. “It also serves as a reminder of how diverse this fan base is, from elementary school kids to retired people, all united because we love BTS.”
