The lure of good food, sunshine and scenery is
expected to bring thousands to the canopy bridge in
Whangarei this summer.
The first Gourmet Night Market will be hosted on
October 13.
Organiser Leeann de Vries says the monthly food
market will celebrate a diverse range of cuisines, with
a theme for quality and sustainability.
The event is expected to draw a large crowd, with
stalls having travelled from as far South as Tokoroa
to take part.
Cuisines on offer from the 30+ pop-up restaurants
will range from Hungarian, to
Mediterranean to Mexican and will have a focus on
flavours as opposed to quantity.
Inspired by night time promenades through overseas
food markets, Leeann says Northland has the perfect
climate to host the event.
“I can see families coming along, bringing a picnic
blanket and just enjoying the atmosphere, listening
to music and feasting on great food.”
After leaving her former job in management, Leeann
says she started to think about what she wanted to
do next.
“I knew I wanted to do something I was passionate
about, but also something that would benefit the
community,” she says. “When I first thought of the
markets I had this vision of me just sitting at a gate
directing people where to park. I quickly worked out
that that would never work!”
After a bit more research, Leeann knew that initially
the markets would have to be a not-for-profit venture.
However, she had found her passion.
“You should have seen my house!” she says. “My
lounge room floor, coffee table and dining room
were covered in pens, paper, sticky notes and
magazine cut-outs.”
Leeann hopes to use her background knowledge in
management to assist stall holders to get to where
they need to be.
“One of my main reasons for doing this is to create
an opportunity for small time business owners,” she
says. ‘It’s also about helping to foster diversity and
culture in the community and to create a form of
social cohesion for people of all ages’.
“If I can provide an opportunity for someone to
make a living, then I will!”
But it’s not all business. Environmental sustainability
is one of Leanne’s core values.
She wants to use the market as a platform to
highlight how we can keep the world clean for
future generations.
“I like to talk rubbish,” she says. “One thing that is
important to me is that all our stall holders offer only
biodegradable containers, and that rubbish and
recycling was sorted appropriately.”
She says she intends to be at each market, picking
up rubbish herself and has been talking to a plate
hire service to try and reduce the amount of waste.
As the longer days draw nearer, Leeann says she
is excited to see how the markets will go.
The first Gourmet Night Market will be hosted on
October 13, a second on November 10 and the
final one for the year will be on December 1- with
more to come in 2018