The Gates opened at 8am – with Mayor Henderson ringing the bell to start trading. An olive tree – kindly donated by Deep Creek Olives was then planted in the Marketplace – symbolic of peace & connecting with the New Norcia Monks & our twin town of Subiaco in Italy. We’ll watch it grow with our Market over the coming months.

We had an overwhelming response from the local community – with approximatey 3000 people coming to the Opening Day. Despite the scorching heat, stallholders sold out of much produce early in the day  - meat, bread & vegetables were the big sellers. More stalls are arriving each week – fruit & vegie stalls are increasing in size due to the demand for fresh produce – & as we move into the summer season – new produce will arrive – including stoned fruit, avocados & cherries. Spencers Brook Farm will be down at Subi in November with their wonderful organic pork, beef & lamb & we’ll have trout & marron from Albany arriving soon. Seasonal produce is the name of the game – so enjoy the delicious asparagus & strawberries & expect some fabulous melons, tomatoes & blueberries soon!

The School Band played some wonderful music – followed by Tony – our faithful school cleaner – who was persuaded to pull out a trumpet & blast out a few tunes for an impromptu performance – his hidden talent surprised most of the crowd!

Activities for the  kids included a fishing game, lucky dip  & face painting – as well as Story-Time under the Big Tree – this will be a regular part of the Market each week – with beautiful stories told by Annie from our Absolutely Organic Stall – don’t miss it next week – at 9.30am – when the bell is rung!

A huge thank you to everyone who came & supported the SFM on our first day – we truly appreciate your support & hope to see you again next Saturday. We plan to grow into a fantastic weekly event – providing the community with fabulous fresh food, fun & info – as well as a great place to gather & meet friends of all ages – bring the kids & linger.

Take a look at the Gallery to see a little of what was on offer. See you all next week!