Kurow held its biggest Festival Market Day yesterday with record numbers of stallholders and holidaymakers flocking to the annual event.
In a break from tradition, the market was held on New Year's Day.
There was a huge variety on offer from the 58 stalls which sold everything from clothes and jewellery to fresh produce, chutneys and second-hand goods.
One of the organisers, Jon Brocas, said the change of date and time - moving the event into the afternoon - had been a success.
‘‘It's just working so very, very well and the stallholders are all pretty happy with it,'' Mr Brocas said.
‘‘We're getting so many more interesting stalls - it's great. It's all just really, really good.''
Local band The Grizzlies provided the entertainment on the main stage, while New Zealand singer-songwriter-instrumentalist Red McKelvie also performed and collected donations for the Whalan Lodge Trust.
It was hard to judge the size of the crowd against previous years due to its transient nature, but Mr Brocas said the market was much busier than previous years and he estimated about 6000 people had attended.
‘‘Kurow is a really vibrant, wonderful community and it's really neat to see [so many people],'' he said.
Whether the event was again held on New Year's Day next year would be up to the committee to decide, but Mr Brocas said after yesterday's success he would not be surprised if it was.
For several years the market day had been held on the same day as the Kurow Races, but local people and businesses were thrilled after having staged the successful races and market day on successive days. ‘
‘Why have just one big day in Kurow - why not have two?'' Mr Brocas said.
‘‘This formula is working.''
For the past four years, the town's main street has been closed for the event, as local policeman Craig Bennett worked with authorities to co-ordinate the closure of the stretch of State Highway 83.
‘‘We've proved that the main street is the place to have it,'' Mr Brocas said.
‘‘Moving the stalls in the centre of the road is really good - it give that market day, festival safe feel.''
