Welcome to Bellingen Community Markets and thanks for joining us this Saturday 19 July from 8am – 2pm at beautiful Bellingen Park.
The weather has been glorious and will continue to shine this Saturday, so please come on time, ready, willing and able to have the best day. bring your marquee pegs to anchor your tent down, just in case the wind picks up, which it has been known to do this time of year.
Yay, it’s the end of the school holidays. Thank goodness I hear many say! This also means many more visitors on market day, especially families. We ask you to park a couple of streets away, after you unload, because it gives your customers a better chance of getting a park, closer to the gates. I’ve heard its quite frustrating driving around and around our market and not getting a park. We have anywhere from 200 stalls, which most have their own car, that parks outside of the market. I can only imagine that would take up quite a bit of room. So, please, let’s make it easier on our lovely visitors, your customers, and park further away. AND never park within 1m of driveways. Thanks for your understanding.
What is a market without good music? and we have some excellent sounds with the Southwall Trio. Byron Bay’s Mark Heazlett, Toby Andrews and Mat Akehurst will serve you up a treat. The National Parks Association of NSW Coffs Coast Branch are our community group with a focus on the Great Koala National Park. See more information below.
Once again our park is full of goodness; delicious food and drinks, a diverse selection of handmades, necessities/luxuries , alternative therapies, vintage and antiques, 2nd hand clothing and bric n brac, plants and fresh produce. I hope you get a chance to wander through and meet some of the lovely community people with cool products who support and help make our market the best place to be every third Saturday.
Please keep reading our newsletter to find out what’s happening.
Have a great week and look forward to seeing you soon.
Kaz Selbie, Bellingen Community Markets Manager
M: 0400 261693 E: info@bellingenmarkets.com.au
Southwall Trio
From Tamworth, Country roots, Mark Heazlett brings a world class vocal performance to his own and his favorite contemporary tunes. Steeped in Blues improvisation, Toby Andrews’ electric guitars are understated, sometimes dazzling. Mat Akehurst ties it all together with ever-steady, intricate percussive feels.
The Southwall trio have refined their sound over a decade and bring a unique musical experience to every show.
Click on below link to hear them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrmN2FAefQg&ab_channel=TobyAndrews
Don’t miss them on the main stage from 10am – 2pm
National Parks Association of NSW Coffs Coast Branch
Coffs Coast Branch covers a large area from the Nambucca Valley in the south to Maclean in the north and west to the escarpment. We are a very busy branch with a focus on delivery of the Great Koala National Park campaign, which requires considerable resources.
Our GKNP campaign stall is a familiar sight at many markets and events around the Coffs Coast region. We actively seek grants for targeted projects such as citizen science training, video production and awareness raising projects. We also run guided bush walks to various regional trails and tracks for members and non-members.
Our branch meets each month at various locations and often has interesting and inspiring guest speakers. We welcome new members and provide opportunities to get involved in a range of exciting activities.
For more information about NPA Coffs Coast Branch contact: coffs@npansw.org.au
For more information about the GKNP campaign contact: greatkoalanp@npansw.org.au
https://www.koalapark.org.au https://www.facebook.com/GreatKoalaNP
They will be welcoming all at the gates with a smile so please give where you can.
Market grounds update
The park is looking and feeling particularly harmonious at the moment. After lots of rain the creeks are running, the trees are glistening with colour and the birds are singing. With naturally falling leaves and the new mulch, a warm winter blanket is protecting the precious ground. Thanks to the forethought of Dr Hewitt, Bellingen Park is very special and unique with a diverse range of majestic trees growing throughout. When you leave, please make your site cleaner and nicer than you found it. Many thanks.
As we saw last market, Bellingen Council built three spectacularly strong bridges to enter and exit our park and within. The bridge near the tennis courts will not be open until August.
Little shelves have been made and installed in our east side toilets. They hold a scott towel under the shelf with a bin under that. You can now leave your phone or keys or whatever on the little shelf while washing and drying your hands. I hope you like and it makes a positive difference.
An electrical cable hook has been placed above the electrical board on back of grandstand, This will assist hot food stalls along this section to keep their leads up off the ground. All hot food stalls who run electrical leads MUST have them TESTED AND TAGGED with a future date. If this is not done you cannot operate. Also, I highly recommend you use an earth leakage circuit breaker adaptor when at our market. Please also check and ensure your cooking appliances are in safe working order. thanks
I have been contacted by Debbie Locke (relative of the Matthew Locke, who the football game is called after, that happens once a year in our park). Debbie and co are keen to paint, and mural the grandstand to make it look spectacular. How cool would it be to see a mural of market and football icons along our grandstand! I cant wait! They will be endeavouring to get a grant for the work. I’m sure when it happens we will be looking for volunteers to help, so watch this space.
A big thanks to Adam from Valley Tree Services who delivered a huge stack of great looking and smelling mulch. The go getting boys Jackson and Jake from Bourke & Co Home Improvements did a fantastic job helping me lay the mulch in the sites I thought were most needy. Yes we could have done more, but after 3hrs, time got away. So, BYO big bucket on market day and fill up to smooth over your site, if you think it needs. Please don’t take any home, as we will eventually use it all on our sites. Many thanks.
Stallholder procedures
Many of you already know what to do, but for our new casuals or those unsure, please click on the below link to read all about it.
Casual stallholders click here to find out what to do on market day and I trust you have read our Terms and Conditions ?
Following the market guidelines and communicating clearly and respectfully, is good for everyone, and the day will flow smoothly and enjoyably. It’s important you have a positive experience at Bellingen Community Markets so if you don’t, we want to hear about it.
Stallholder start and end times
PERMANENTS ENTER AT 6.15AM CASUALS ENTER AT 6.30AM PLEASE BE ON TIME
PLEASE DRIVE AT WALKING PACE WHEN IN PARK AND DO NOT DRIVE ON FOOTBALL OVAL
GATES OPEN AGAIN AT 2PM TO LEAVE PLEASE BE OUT OF THE PARK BY 3.30PM
Plastic free July
Help reduce the use of plastics by bringing your own bag and coffee cup. Please don’t wrap products in plastic either. Also help us minimise our waste by placing the right rubbish in the right bin. All food stuffs must be taken home by stallholder for their compost bin as we don’t have green bins at this stage. Do not place food scraps in our red bins. This month we are also collecting bottles and cans to cash in for the Great Koala National Park, so please use these bins where appropriate. Many thanks for supporting plastic free July and the months following!
Great opportunity from Bellingen Council
A last-minute opportunity has come up for a Free mentorship program through FaBa Growth Hub. It is a 12-week program built to accelerate Australian food and beverage SMEs and startups ready to innovate, scale, and meet the demands of a changing market. Participants receive tailored, in-kind support including expert mentorship, industry workshops, and strategic introductions to investors and partners.
The program is focused on food and beverage businesses and includes things like packaging innovations, logistics solutions and processing.
The program will be delivered virtually on Tuesdays for 12 weeks commencing on July 22 until October 7, 2025.
For more information and to apply, go to FaBA Growth Hub – Ventures – University of Queensland.
Applications close on July 8, 9:00 am AEST. That is 9AM not PM!
Interested businesses or start-ups are encouraged to investigate this good opportunity.
Life is 10% effort and 90% attitude
so make the most of it and have a great day!
