THE warmer weather may have kept a few folk at home, but the Avenel Market certainly warmed up with its first event for the year on Sunday morning at Jubilee Park.
The usual popular offerings from 2024 were joined by three new stalls, including Landscape Hill Garlic selling their range of varieties they grow on their Tallarook farm.
The new Fab n Fun stall delighted both young and old on its first visit offering crash-courses in tie dying, and Swan Hill writer and music teacher Andrew Kelly signed copies of his debut book.
Co-organiser Anne Douglas said Saturday had proven a 'great start' to the year.
"This is the first one for 2025, we've got all our regulars back and it has got a really good feel about it," Anne said.
Latest Stories
"All the community come out and support this, and we have people from around the area as well.
"Tourists pop in from the freeway as well."
Tie-dying artist Leanne Camilleri from Clonbinane said her stall Fab n Fun was in high demand at other markets, and that social tie-dying went beyond just making something.
"It's about giving everybody a chance to have lots and lots of fun, be a bit creative, and then have a memento, taking something away to remember the occasion with whomever they've been doing it," Leanne said.
Paul Lockhart and Casey O'Farrell also made their debut on Saturday with their range of garlic varieties for sale.
The two scientists moonlight as garlic growers and their knowledge on growing and using garlic was rich.
"Our garlics are sort of aimed for the longer keeping varieties," Paul said.
"So we're hopeful to be selling in mid-winter when you can't usually buy Australian garlic."
Andrew Kelly and his wife Sarina launched Andrew's children's book Cry Hard, Chucky as an aid for emotional development in children.
Andrew was one of fourteen children growing up on a Mallee farm and said he drew the inspiration for the book from his late father's advice when he was a child.
"Whenever we would cry for all the reasons that good average kids cry for, the old man would say 'cry hard, love, it'll do you good'," Andrew said.
"And that's the nucleus of this story; the kid's called Chucky and every time he cries, he's told 'cry hard, Chucky, it'll do you good'."
Market regular Indiana Bast at her homemade lemonade stand remained her typical coy self as she batted away the usual requests for her mother's secret recipe.
Persistence from this correspondent with the St Mary's Seymour year 8 was finally met with a hand in the face.
"I'm not going to share it," Indiana said.
"It's my mum's secret recipe and no one will ever know it."
(For the record, it's a nice, refreshing drop.)
