Planning key to Rotary markets’ success

THE Rotary Club of Bendigo Sandhurst’s Easter Markets return to the centre of town next weekend, offering up a grab bag of surprises amongst 200-plus stalls such as handcrafted jewellery, clothing, tempting treats, artisan sweets and produce, as well as unique décor items.

Originating around 30 years ago when the Rotary Club first hosted a three-day Easter barbecue in front of the Shamrock Hotel, from those beginnings the markets have grown into an unmissable element of the Bendigo Easter Festival.

Ray Carrington, past president of the Club, said there’s always “a fair bit of planning involved” in the lead up to the event.

“There’s all the registration going on beforehand, the collection of the monies and the allocations of the stalls – all that information has to be sent back along with where to park et cetera,” he said.

“We have to make it safe for the stallholders and the public, and have sufficient space between the two lines of stalls in case any emergency vehicles need (access).”

“We get a huge amount of support from the City of Greater Bendigo because they close off a significant part of the CBD for the Easter markets over Easter, and also the Chinese Association are very, very good to us as we can’t use Pall Mall on the Sunday because of the parade.

“Our club is about 40 members strong and it’s fair to say that most of us are involved in one way or another.”

Mr Carrington said, generally, everything goes smoothly from festival to festival.

“We always get lots and lots of compliments from stallholders – plenty of people say it’s the best market they go to throughout the whole year,” he said.

“We’re very proud of it – if you’re after a gift for somebody for Easter or birthdays or Christmas, you’re likely to be able to find something there.”

The Rotary Club of Bendigo Sandhurst’s Easter Markets take place on Friday 3 April from 9am to 4pm along Pall Mall and Easter Fair Way, and Sunday 5 April from 9am to 4pm along Easter Fair Way and within the Chinese Gardens precinct.