by Betty Heywood
Congratulations to the pioneers of the Red Hill Community Market, Beth Wilson, Cathy Thompson and Carole Stapleton. Twenty years have flown since the first market had its humble beginnings in a Church Hall for the local folk to sell or swap their craft and hobbies and over-abundant home garden produce. The theme of the Market is Make it Bake it Grow it Breed it, and all goods must be home produced and sold by the stallholder. The first Market proved so popular that the coordinators hired the Red Hill Recreation Reserve for the first Saturday in October and the Red Hill Community Market was born.
After the first Market a friend told me about it and said it would be an ideal place to sell my craft etc. I started at the second Market with a card table to put my bark brooches on and took pot luck on my stall site, which was outside, and thank goodness the weather was fine. Beth, Carole and Cathy were most helpful and understanding as their idea had grown to extraordinary proportions and the stallholder response was overwhelming.
As the years went by I got a permanent site in D Shed and I have been there to this day, selling the different craft I make in my spare time and the excess produce from our home garden. The Make it Bake it Grow it Breed it has been the special theme for the Red Hill Market and the first Saturday in September to the first Saturday in May is known throughout Australia.
I am very pleased to have been chosen to hold a stall at the Red Hill Market as the waiting list is long and the requirements and quality of goods are excellent due to the very strict guidelines of the Market management.
The early morning start is unbelievable. Cars, trucks, vans etc. arrive at the Recreation Ground in a steady stream of headlights and the outside stalls get very busy setting up in the early morning light while the shed stallholders wait for Beth to arrive to open up before 6am. The shed lights up and in a matter of minutes the whole place is a hive of activity setting up stalls and, even before the stalls are ready, the early bird shoppers are doing the rounds.
I owe a special thank you to all members of my family for unfailing help and support which has enabled me to continue with my hobby, and especially to my husband Len for being so understanding and helpful with the early morning start and setting up of my stall on Market day.