Avalon Market Day, the largest and most successful market day in the Northern Beaches, has permanently come to a close after more than 30 years of activity.
Dubbed as the crown jewel of Sydney’s market events, the annual showcase of products from various local merchants, creatives and small businesses will no longer take place during its expected run every third Sunday of November.
In an email sent to subscribers, the manager of the Avalon Market Day cited that COVID-19 has changed the priorities of the small group of volunteer workers organising this event. With smaller manpower, they could no longer mount and sustain this iconic community affair. The social pages of Avalon Market Day have also been shut down.
At the Avalon community group on Facebook, locals expressed disappointment over the cancellation.
“Any form of Avalon Market Day would be great for our community. Our local businesses have been knocked for six this year and last year and I’m not sure how much more we can take. We all need something to really look forward to,” Wendy Brown said.
“That is so sad. Avalon Market Day was something I always looked forward to, as well as the opportunity for small businesses in Avalon to get known and flourish. It is such a shame and a disgrace to the Northern Beaches Council for not supporting this community event. I am sure they would have collected enough revenue from stallholders to cover this event,” Sue Bell posted.
The group has been finding a way to revive the market by asking for volunteers who could help set up the logistics of mounting a large event, including securing Council permissions and insurance or asking businesses to take part. Extra measures have to be planned out as well due to the looming threats of virus transmission, especially after Avalon became a Sydney COVID-19 hotspot in late 2020.
Hosted by the Avalon Palm Beach Business Chamber Inc. Avalon Market Day converts main streets around Avalon Beach Village and Dunbar Park as a shopping mecca, live music venue and family recreational spot for a full day. About 40,000 visitors come to the annual market for their Christmas shopping and some even come with their dogs in tow.
In February 2021, Avalon Palm Beach Business Chamber announced its merger with the chambers of Newport and Mona Vale. Locals speculated the restructure might have also affected the process of organising the event.
