After dancers and DJs, fashion and F&B, retail is the latest bait being used to reel in the party people, as Calcutta nights become increasingly crowded.

The flea market feel ? straight from Goa ? is coming to town. This Friday, Bar, Entertainment and Dining, or BED, will host a boisterous bazaar to draw in crowds on the lookout for something new.

Colourful scenes most often spotted at Anjuna beach in Goa and in Pune see foreign tourists emptying out their backpacks to make a few extra bucks. It results in an eclectic mix ? imported chocolates, perfumes, shoes, watches and T-shirts ? old and new. Party animals shell out for the hippie-style goodies well past the midnight hour.

The city night haunt, however, will not be a platform for people to sell their fare. ?But it might be an idea in future if we regularise the market,? says Megha Vora, director, BED. ?The idea for now is to provide buyers with the unexpected. But the basic items will be cheap clothes, jewellery and chappals in funky designs,? explains Bhavna Sharma of BED.

Sourav?s: The Food Pavilion, too, is toying with retail on its Park Street premises. On May 21, a coffee afternoon will find established jewellery houses selling their creations. ?The effort is to create an ambience where women can choose their purchases over a cup of coffee and some chatter,? says Kanishka Mazumder, CEO, Sourav?s.

When a weekly fashion event at its lounge, Prince of Calcutta, started a few months ago, the management wasn?t sure how it would go down.

?But regulars have loved it and we get first-time walk-ins on Fridays, as people are assured of entertainment besides the usual DJ music,? says Mazumder.

The Park has experimented with retail value-adds at Atrium, its coffee shop. At a food festival capturing the flavours of Lahore, bangles and paan were sold. ?We had a large group of foreign tourists staying at the hotel then and the retailers had business worth Rs 70,000,? says Anirban Simlai, director, F&B, The Park. Theme nights, including a Holi market outside Tantra, with vendors selling colour, jewellery and bhang, have been regular and extremely popular.

With the emphasis squarely on entertainment and ambience, BED is adding to the flea market funk with tattoo artistes, hair stylists, cartoonists and tarot card readers. DJ Ma Faiza from the Osho Ashram, a regular performer at flea markets, is being brought it.

While the night-club flea market is making its debut in town, venues in Mumbai have been trying them out on a weekly basis.

If it clicks, Calcutta, too, might have its regular share.