Irene Village Market

An Arts and Crafts Market - Irene

- 10 November 2012 -

Just down the road from my house is an arts and crafts market. The Irene Village Market is quite well known in the area, but I have always avoided going, the traffic getting there is horrendous. This project has inspired me to get creative and go see the local attraction. So I fuelled my little stand up scooter and headed off in the direction of Irene. It was quite a pleasant drive, it was a wonderful day, sunny but not too warm.

The market is about 7 to 8 kilometres from my house, but with this little beast it's no problem. Since I upgraded its exhaust and it quite easily reaches 60 km/h. I zipped past all the traffic and reached the destination in no time. Initially I followed all the cars and they turned off into a parking area where I argued with the entry clerk for a while as to why I should pay for parking. He insisted I had to pay. However I decided not to listen to him and drove in anyway.

After driving down the main row of cars I started wondering where the entrance to the market was. After driving around for a while I soon realised that this is purely a parking lot and the entrance to the market is no where near. I slipped back out the parking entrance and found the entrance to the market a couple of metres up the road. I parked right in front of the entrance and chained my scooter to a pole. Why the entry clerk, even after our debate, couldn't advise that there is no need for to park in the parking lot, still puzzles me. Good thing I didn't pay.

The market as one can expect, evident from the traffic, is crowded with people, young and old. It's quite an atmosphere.

Firstly I stopped off in the food section, and I must say there is quite a lot of variety. From hamburgers and samosas, to cupcakes and cookies. I stuck to the good old South African tradition and went for boerewors roll. I was quite hungry so I went for 2.

There is a large open area with cushions on the floor and small benches and tables. They also had some local Afrikaans music.

Afrikaans music isn't the only entertainment.

The variety of arts and crafts is amazing and due to strict entry policies you can be sure everything is original and nothing mass produced. The stalls range from arts, crafts, food, beverage, antiques, collectables, furniture, decor and entertainment.

As you venture deeper into the market, the stall are located under tall shady pine trees. This, I really like.

It was not only me enjoying the surroundings, everyone else seemed to be enjoying it too.

When it comes to keeping the kids busy, there is variety for that too. From camel rides to candle making.

So I stood around by the camels for a while to see when someone goes for a ride and I must say this girls smile, is my photo of the day. She was really enjoying this.

As I mention before, you find some interesting characters, a guy in stockings, knitting, really topped the list of strange people.

All said and seen. If you wondered if it worth it, it is! This place is for locals and tourists, who will experience great variety and atmosphere, surrounded by beautiful and interesting people. The food it good too.