Gates open for Northside market

Canberra has another farmer’s market, this one operating from the University of Canberra on Saturday afternoons, excellent news for Northsiders who can’t get to Exhibition Park on a Saturday morning.

The Northside markets are a spinoff from the Southside markets, set up by Michelle Van Wijk and her husband, who took over the Southside markets from founder Patrick Pentony (of the Choku Bai Jo family) in 2008. Van Wijk says the Southside markets started with 12 stallholders and now have 55-60 each week.

Many will be selling at the new markets – with 25 stalls on the first weekend, November 2. They include a peach-grower from Araluen with just-ready peaches, and a fishing family from Narooma, who, she says, get the fish off their boat on Thursdays and bring it straight to the markets.

The Northside markets operate 2.30pm-5.30pm on Saturdays, in Kirinari Street in front of buildings 1 and 10 (enter the campus from Ginninderra Drive), southsidefarmersmarket.com.au