Shop Local Christmas Market 2022

What a great day we had last year on Saturday December 3 at our Shop Local Christmas Market at the Churchill Shopping Centre!

Good weather, market stalls, sausage sizzles, give-aways, entertainment and a surprise visit from Santa brought out lots of folk to enjoy the event. With a display by Pistons Car Club and BBQs by Churchill Lions Club and Churchill Fire Brigade the car park was fairly full all morning.

Music by Bryce (outside Cafe Alfa), carols by Kelly and Tim (at West Place) and even a roving outdoor face-painter, all added to the cheerful atmosphere created by friends and families strolling around, browsing the market stalls and getting their Saturday morning shopping done.

Great work by our volunteers from Churchill Neighbourhood Centre, Churchill & District News and Churchill & District Community Association ensured the event ran smoothly. A special shout-out of thanks to Tony Antonelli of AA Accounting for a financial contribution to the cost of all those free sausages that were cooked for attendees. Thanks also to Woolworths Churchill for their donation of fruit to distribute, to Gippsland Water for quality water bottles to give away and to Darren Chester for providing plenty of 2023 Calendars to hand out (always a popular item!).

Former MP, Russell Northe, checked his stationary cupboard and found a last box of his printed note-pads for us to give away too – just the thing for writing shopping lists!

That is the point really, our Shop Local Markets are designed to encourage residents of Churchill and district to Shop Local.

We aim to bring a crowd to our shopping centre, support our local retailers and provide an opportunity for local artisans to sell their wares, and a venue for community groups to do a bit of fundraising and/or PR.

We look forward to seeing you at our Shop Local Markets in 2023. Dates will be included in the March edition of the News and will also be posted to our Facebook Page (Churchill Shop Local) in March.