Another market under our belt and it was a sweet one on many fronts. For Riverton, it was a reasonable day weather-wise: no sideways rain or intense winds, and so we had a couple of stallholders outside which seemed to work well. We are hoping to buy an outside gazebo when we raise enough funds and this we will place strategically, so that it protects the rest of the area from the prevailing wind. It’s such a beautiful space so it makes sense to use it in the warmer months.
As usual we had a diverse range of stall holders; in fact, we were pretty much at
capacity inside and definitely ready to spill into the outside. I like the fact that every market is quite different so that anyone stepping through the door will never really know what to expect on the other side. I always enjoy looking around at people catching up with one another and watching families and friends supporting the stall-holders – there is a lot of feel-good about this market and the stall holders and market goers each add their own bit of magic. Thanks everyone, for making these markets so much fun!
Highlights for me at this market were; a conversation I had with a honeymooning elderly couple from Tauranga (in their 80’s), chats with stall holders (always a highlight!), a big soulful hug (yes yours Iri), buying some gorgeous presents that I know friends and family are going to LOVE (it’s soooo tempting to buy for myself), seeing people I haven’t seen for a while and meeting new people. Honestly, I wonder how any raffle tickets get sold (although, I think people have figured out that you just go up to the raffle table, fill out the tickets yourself and put the money in the box)! The raffle and it’s gorgeous bounty was won by the lovely Lizzie (currently living in Lumsden) – she was so chuffed to win and had a huge beam on her face when it was announced.
Our baking competition – Truffles, which was technically not baking at all, went down an absolute treat. We received a beautiful array of entries – 10 in total! I have to say - I just love watching people contemplating each (numbered) entry at these baking competitions, tuning thoughtfully into their taste buds before writing their favourite number on a slip of paper and putting it in the jar. I had about 3 favourites but thought they were all pretty good. It’s interesting how many variations there can be of any particular culinary dish and it’s quite nice to get the opportunity to try other peoples’ versions! Kudos for Jasmin for bringing the baking competition to the market – it’s a lovely way for people to be able to share something with the community (as well as being in with a chance to win a cash prize)! Speaking of winning: this time, our winner was Alicia, with her delicious chocolate truffles!! Well deserved and a number of people commented on the beautiful consistency of them. There were just 3 ingredients: 1 whole packet of 290g Nestle dark melting chocolate, 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 cup of cream. So, if you make truffles as a gift for friends or family, you can be confident that they will be pretty good - community approved!
Our next Riverton Community Market falls on the 22nd December which is not the last Sunday of December like we normally are. The art group are taking over the hall on Christmas Eve for an exhibition running until the New Year so it made sense to make the last market of the year just before Christmas – this is good for both the stall holders and the leave-it-until-the-last-minute shoppers (and of course, the art exhibitors) so it’s a win-win-win! The baking competition will be announced over the coming week so watch out for the update. If you’d like a stall for the next market, contact me as soon as possible! See you at the next one!
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