Stanthorpe – Market in the mountains

Stanthorpe’s Market in the Mountains grew from an idea suggested to local crafters during the 1990 Apple and Grape Harvest Festival. Carole Parkinson took the idea to a series of public meetings to gauge whether the idea of a craft market would be feasible. With the enthusiasm of local crafters and financial help from various groups, Market in the Mountains was born. The first convenors were Lynne Alexander and Terri Welles.

The result was that in 1992, a group of like-minded people got together to find a way to promote and showcase the talents of local crafters. The result was a bi-monthly market held in the car park of the Central Hotel in Stanthorpe. This site was fine in summer but Queensland’s coolest town suffers some cold blustery winds and snow and sleet is not unknown in winter.

A decision was made to move to St. Joseph’s Hall where there was protection from the elements. After a while, the Market outgrew the size of the hall and it was moved to the Stanthorpe Civic Centre as a monthly market. In October 2007 the markets opened twice a month until December 2014.  It was a big year for the markets in 2014, we celebrated our 21st Birthday. In January 2015 the markets returned to opening on the 2nd Sunday of each month plus special long weekend markets.  In March 2016 due to a fire at the Civic Centre we found a new home at the Stanthorpe Showgrounds, High Street, Stanthorpe. We would like to thank the many stallholders and visitors who have been a part of the markets over the past 26 years. Market Dates.

Since the inception of the Markets, a committee of stallholders has been responsible for the smooth running of our enterprise as well as our promotion of the Granite Belt and its artisans. In 1998, the committee showed keen foresight in registering the business name “Market in the Mountains” as our official market title and we reserve the right to restrict the use of that name to our Market and promotions. We also became the Stanthorpe Crafters & Hobbyists Assn. Inc., a not-for-profit organisation showcasing Market in the Mountains.