Community | The Inverell Times

The farm is coming to the centre of the city with the Haig Park Village Markets set to open on February 7. With more than 40 stall holders offering a diverse range of fresh quality produce, there'll also be live music, arts and crafts, as well as food and drink offerings on site. Directors Rosie Green and Alexandra Webb love nothing more than spending a morning at the markets and, while they adore the Capital Region Farmers' Markets at EPIC and the Southside Farmers' Markets held at Canberra College, they saw a gap in the Canberra landscape. "The one thing we think Canberra didn't have was the outdoor, picnic, day out, kind of farmers' market similar to Byron Bay, Bondi, Eumundi in Noosa, West End in Brisbane, like all those iconic ones around Australia where there are activities, there's engagement, there's music, you can grab a bite to eat while you're there, a place where you can meet friends, catch up with family," says Green. "I think that is going to be our main point of difference." The pair approached the ACT government to see if Haig Park was available and the City Renewal Authority offered them the opportunity to hold the markets. The authority has plans to transform the park into a "distinctive and welcoming destination". Over the past couple of years, different events have been held in the park with great success. "They've done such a great job activating the park so we're just hoping to build on that," Ms Webb said. "When we were initially looking for a spot, we thought the park would be ideal as it's very central, the area is densely populated to get people there and people can walk or take public transport to get there." Both are keen to encourage the community aspect of the markets, supporting local, building on relationships between producers and market goers. Read more: "That's how he sort of came up with our name, the local village kind of idea," Ms Green said. "Bringing it back to the village, bringing it back to your own community, supporting your local producers and small businesses and crafts people, create that community vibe. "You go to a farmers' market and there's just a bit of a buzz about it, the smells, the sounds, a hubbub, people having conversations about produce, a catch up over a coffee." Ms Webb and Ms Green hope the markets will eventually also host a range of community initiatives such as workshops, discussions and activities to provide further ways for locals to connect. "We have sort of a bit of a long-term vision in that we want to work with community groups to extend the idea of creating that village," says Webb. "We'd love to run little mini events, potentially using our stallholders or people who have a certain knowledge or certain interest, offering workshops and discussions. "If we've got people interested in bees, or sourdough workshops, or different crafts. "We'd also like to run activities for children to get them thinking about produce and where it comes from." Stallholders on the first day include Banjo's Paddock, Dedas Smoke House, Camilleri Berries, Origin Bake, Mayfarm Flowers, Fanci Fungi, Base Ethical Soap, Riverbourne Distillery and Franklin Road Preserves among others. Green says there has been substantial interest from stallholders already, indicating the markets have a bright future. "And we're always looking for more." For faster access to the latest Canberra news, download The Canberra Times app for iOS and Android.

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