Farmers Market Update

Hello Glenferrie Rotarians,

I can't say what made it friendlier than other markets, it is just a feeling I had last Saturday. Success helps of course, with quite a number of stallholders selling out, and also me getting a cevapi sausage roll with egg and bacon from Glenlyon Chestnuts, a scallop pie from Cripps Fish and a duck and cherry pie from Sascha’s Deli. (No I did not eat all of them at once…)

The people from Council gave away all their 300 bags of compost, so they were happy, and a mum won the footy handball competition, to the disappointment of a number of small boys. Well done to Lawrie for managing the footy theme so well. I haven’t made it to the bank yet with the takings, but my guess is around 800 attendees, a great result if I’m correct.

The footy theme at the September market together with the hand-balling competitions along and other footy activities proved popular. We have had themed markets since July, with another "Doggie Day" at the July market and a "Fathers Day" special in August. Results have been reasonable for winter, though we have been affected by weather, with no less than seven stallholder cancellations in August because of the threatened high winds and rain, which unfortunately eventuated.

October sees the annual Emergency Services Family Fun Day, always a hit with the little ones. In the two markets in November, we have a choral theme, with Swinburne Chorale on November 15th and Glee East Singers on November 29th. The December Market sees our usual Christmas Market.

We have experienced electrical problems with our burden carrier, but hopefully they were fixed last Tuesday. At long last the ‘Reliability Unit’ might live up to its name. It has been noted that some wag has added in biro the letters ‘Un’ to the name of our trolley.

We have been trialling a third entry gate at the hockey field end of the Reserve. While it can be very cold, we believe we are catching more patrons. 

Stallholder news. Angela Villela, long term stallholder of Si Mangia fame, has been elected to Darebin Council. Sadly, this means she cannot continue at our market. We wish her well.