Every Friday during December, a festive and cheerful night market appears on the lawn of Bridges Reserve, in front of the Coburg Leisure Centre in Coburg.
The market, which makes great use of the space, brings the suburb alive with concert performances, handcraft stalls, information about local businesses and children's activities. The main attraction however, is the array of delicious, hot, cooked food where the exotic variety is simply fascinating.
Fresh lemonade
This makes
Coburg Night Market a great place to go out and enjoy dinner. People wander about filling their plates with treats such as Nepalese grilled meats, Spanish paella, Greek souvlaki, Korean potato twists, Middle Eastern Falafel, and German bretzen.
As for a location in which to dine, most visitors choose places beneath the reserve's enormous oak trees. It's also the best position in which relax after a meal and to sit back and watch the evening's entertainment. On the night that I visited, Coburg Night Market had an energetic local choir who drew crowds with hearty tunes and choreographed dances.
A happy, community choir
After dinner, a wander through the stalls finishes off a perfect evening. There are plants, clothing, coconut jewellery and beauty products made from goat's milk on display. You can experience a 'One-Ki' body massage, which involves the practitioner performing a type of cleansing breath cycle and tai-chi movements while working. You can have your tarot read, or hands decorated with henna. For youngsters, they can have their faces painted or make their own badges. A local real-estate agent supplies balloons for the kids as well.
Colourful succulents for sale
With heaps of people, children, dogs, families and babies in prams, the Coburg Night Market has a true community feel. It's family friendly, well lit, with clear signage and has security guards employed to keep everybody safe.
Parking for the event is available in the adjacent Russell Street car park but at such a popular event, you'd best get in early as most of the spaces fill up quickly.
Coburg Night Market brings a joyous atmosphere to the suburb and heralds the beginning of the silly season. Come along if you can.
It's all there
