Shop ‘til you drop, dance like no one is watching or celebrate great local produce on Saturday November 8.
Bendigo will play host to a range of great events including the Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival, Bendigo Community Farmers Market, Uniquely Bendigo – Meet the Makers, Trove Market, Food Fossickers and the Hargreaves Mall Makers Market.
Hargreaves Mall Makers Market
11am – 3pm, Hargreaves Mall
Start your Christmas shopping by supporting local artists and crafts people. Stalls will feature jewellery, children’s toys and clothes, beauty items, visual arts, creative gift ideas and much more. Shop to the sounds of the Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival, which will have a stage set up in the Mall.
Bendigo Community Farmers Market
9am – 1pm, Sidney Myer Place
The November Bendigo Community Farmers Market (BCFM) is shaping up to be a big one, with the Food Fossikers’ BBQ Madness cooking up a storm on the lawn alongside the market.
The BCFM is accredited with the Victorian Farmers Market Association, which means nearly all of its stallholders also produce their wares so customers get to buy directly from the farmer.
The market offers a huge variety of fresh, local and seasonal goods from producers who are passionate about what they do. There are also lots of activities, including chef demonstrations, producer talks, community involvement and a kids’ club.
Uniquely Bendigo - Meet the Makers
9am – 2pm, Bendigo Visitor Information Centre, Pall Mall
Uniquely Bendigo is a store located at the Bendigo Visitor Information Centre that offers quality, unique products created in the Bendigo region. Pop in and taste a delicious treat, talk to the person behind the product, hear their story and see their techniques.
Also discover an extensive range of giftware perfect for someone special, exquisite sculptural pieces, funky handmade items and local history books.
The Visitor Information Centre is located next door to the Bendigo Community Farmers Market and a hop, skip and jump from the Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival Family Day in the Civic Gardens (next to the Bendigo Town Hall).
Trove Makers’ Market
11am – 4pm, Bendigo Town Hall
The Trove Makers' Market brings together many of the region’s talented makers in a funky indie environment. In its eighth month, the market will feature more than 50 stall holders selling a variety of goods including paintings, jewellery, photography, furniture, clothing and décor.
The market is usually held on the third Sunday of every month at the Good Loaf, but has embraced the opportunity to host an exclusive indoor market alongside the Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival.
Food Fossickers - BBQ Madness
11am – 1pm, next to the Bendigo Community Farmers Market, Sidney Myer Place
Some of Bendigo’s best restaurants are heading to the Bendigo Community Farmers Market to present BBQ Madness, an official Good Food Month event. Join Food Fossicker members Masons of Bendigo, Goldmines Hotel, ROCKS on Rosalind and The Woodhouse as they create a BBQ city adjoining the market.
Unique and interesting dishes including barbequed seafood, McIvor Farm Foods organic farmed pork, regional barbeque meats and more will be teamed with local and market produce. Dishes will cost between $6 and $10 each.
Settle in for lunch on the lawn and add to your feast with an abundance of food and drink goodies from the Farmers Market stall holders.
Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival Family Concert
11am – 7pm, Civic Gardens
The free all day main stage concert features 13 acts, including the finalists in the Lazenby Young Blues Guitarist Award. Other talented artists include Owen Campbell, Pete Cornelius and Jo Jo Smith.
Bring along a picnic rug, relax under the shade of the trees with food and drink available on site or pop into the Trove Makers’ Market in the magnificent Bendigo Town Hall next door.
The kids will be kept busy with face painting, craft activities, big bubbles and games, and Mobile Playzones’ ball pit of fun.
A stage will also be set up in the Hargreaves Mall on November 6, 7 and 8. The Bendigo Blues and Roots Festival offers four days of action with more than 100 acts at venues around the city from November 6 – 9. To see the full program or for information visit www.bendigobluesandroots.com.au.