Taste the Bay Twilight Market

wednesday 19 march, 6pm

The best of Hawke's Bay is coming to the 2014 NRM Horse of the Year Show . . . and it's nothing to do with horses.

The show has teamed up with the Hastings City Business Association and Hawke's Bay Farmers Market to create the Taste the Bay Twilight Market.

The main arena will boast a carnival atmosphere with buskers and jugglers alongside fresh local produce, artisan food and grocery items, ethnically diverse street food and high-end arts and crafts.

NRM HOY operations manager Andrew Hansen says it brings the bay to the people.

“All too often, those at HOY hardly have a chance to get out about and see all the fantastic things on offer in Hawke's Bay,” he says. “This is a way we bring it right to their trucks!”

The evening market, scheduled for the Wednesday of the show between 6pm and 10pm, has attracted “fantastic support” from the people of Hawke's Bay.

Up to 100 stalls are expected and Hansen is planning on this becoming an annual addition to the show.

“It's adding something new and exciting to an already atmosphere-charged event.”

That's reiterated by Hastings City Business Association manager Susan McDade, who has been working alongside Hansen on the new initiative.

“It's a real mega market,” says McDade. “It will give our HOY visitors a wider view of what Hawke's Bay has to offer if they want to come back at another time to visit and bring the family.”

She's confident the market initiative will grow in the future.

The association also plans to run free shuttle buses into the centre of Hastings to make it easier for HOY participants to get out and about.

“Hawke's Bay has so much to offer – no matter where you are from.”