People of Troy

Cyren Romeo

Meet the Founder of A Big Gay Market: Building Community Through Creativity, Visibility, and Joy

Q: What made you start A Big Gay Market?

Funny story — it actually started as a garage sale.

At first, it was called A Big Gay Garage Sale, and it was created to raise money for Camp Adirondack, a free retreat for queer and trans middle and high schoolers in the Adirondacks. They had lost a lot of their funding, and I thought, not on my watch. This space was too important to lose.

It’s one of the places where I’ve truly felt hope in action. I knew it needed to continue.

I grew up in markets with my mom — she was a vendor for 18 years, and I worked alongside her. So I had this love for markets and understood the magic they can create. I thought, why not use that to help?

I held our first event in the only park in Albany where you didn’t need a permit. It was scrappy — I didn’t even have tablecloths yet. We had maybe ten people selling hot dogs on site, and somehow 40 vendors showed up. It was a hit. Nearly 1,000 people came, and we raised over $800.

That was in July 2022, and it showed me there really weren’t enough spaces for queer and trans people to gather outside of Pride Month — because apparently we only exist during Pride Month.

Seeing that response made me realize: I can do this year-round.

So in April 2023, we launched our first official A Big Gay Market. We had 70 vendors, raised $1,000, and welcomed over 1,000 attendees. Since then, we’ve grown to four markets a year, plus regional pop-ups across upstate and downstate New York.

There are so many incredible queer artists and creatives in our community, and not enough spaces dedicated to them. We also make sure every market gives back — a portion of vendor fees supports other small organizations.

At the heart of it, I created this because there are still so many forces trying to silence queer and trans people. This market is a space where you can be your most authentic, honest, silly self — safely and affirmatively — and be celebrated exactly as you are.

That’s what A Big Gay Market is.

Q: What brought you to Downtown Troy?

I’ve been in the Capital Region for about ten years. I went to The College of Saint Rose, and while I was in school, I would always come to Troy to write my papers.

I would go to the upstairs of Little Pecks the Tavern Bar — that’s where I wrote so many of my papers for school.

What I’ve always loved about Troy is the sense of community. You can always run into someone you know, this is "Smalbany"! But there is always someone doing something cool for the neighborhood. That’s true across the Capital Region, but Troy especially has this energy.

Bringing A Big Gay Market to downtown Troy felt inevitable. The market is community-driven, and so is Troy.

So many of our vendors are based here, create here, and live here. I’ve built so many collaborations and friendships here too — with folks at Context Collective, Typhoid Mary, Opal Hexen, Odd House, Refuge, and so many others.

It really felt like a natural fit.

Q: What would you tell queer entrepreneurs who want to get started?

Just do it.

It’s scary — but it’s the good kind of scary. The kind that pushes you forward.

A lot of things feel uncertain, but what drives me is this idea that I’m creating the future I want to live in.

That’s what being a queer and nonbinary founder means to me: building the world I know can exist because I’m helping create it.

Do your research. Don’t reinvent the wheel if something already exists. But honestly? Nine times out of ten, it doesn’t.

So make the flyer. Post it. Start the thing.

People will come.

Q: What does the structure of A Big Gay Market look like now?

Right now, we’re a community organization and a small business, but we’re in the process of becoming a nonprofit by the end of the year.

I realized we were basically operating like a nonprofit already — not making money, constantly giving back, and supporting beneficiaries through our vendor fees.

Becoming a nonprofit will let us apply for grants and expand our programming.

Last year, we launched our first Queer Creative Futures cohort, a youth mentorship program where 12- to 17-year-olds were paired with mentors in their creative field.

They had free studio sessions for six months, stipends for materials, and then graduated by vending alongside their mentors at our youth market.

The program was incredible. We got support from The Arts Center of the Capital Region, but there are so many grants that require nonprofit status.

And because it was so successful, I want to make it an annual program.

I also think this kind of mentorship could expand to people in their early twenties, right out of college.

And beyond that, I’ve been thinking about building something like a queer chamber of commerce — professional development, directories of affirming accountants and service providers, shared resources.

We already have a Discord where people naturally share opportunities and advice. That tells me this region needs more infrastructure like that.

Q: Staff-wise, is it just you?

It is just me.

I do have an amazing collaborator, Cheyenne Clarke, who curates the wellness section at all four of our major markets. Beyond that, I work with a few contractors — Cheyenne being one of them, along with our resident DJ, DJ Lovely Candela.

This year, we also have our first Advisory Council as collaborators!

Those are really my two main collaborators. But outside of that, it’s all me. This is my full-time job, and I wear a lot of hats to keep it all moving.

Q: What’s coming up next?

We’ll be opening applications for our October market at the Lake House in Washington Park on July 1.

We are bringing back our Big Gay Spooky Market at the end of October, and popping up at Collar City Pride in October as well.

A lot is coming — and applications for all of those open in July.

Learn more about A Big Gay Market here: https://www.abiggaymarket.com/