Some of my favourite pre-teen memories include spending time with my friends at Glendale City Centre, watching new movies at the cinemas, spending our parents’ money in stores on things we definitely didn’t need, and then going to get more food from one of the many food stores. But despite Glendale City Centre being a large part of my childhood, I’ve never actually checked out the Glendale Farmers and Artisan Markets that have taken up part of the car park every weekend for a few years now. Well, I have a day off work, some spare cash and a lift there, so let’s make today the day!
Glendale Farmers and Artisans Markets is hosted every Saturday by Newcastle Farmers Markets. It’s not the biggest market in Newcastle, but you’ll still find a great range of farm fresh produce, delicious handmade food, and unique handmade clothing and giftware. It’s only at markets where you can actually meet the people who are growing the produce you eat, or making the things you wear and use. Glendale Markets are no different! It’s all local and independent, so shop away and support these businesses!
I’ve been to some pretty big markets before. The Queen Victoria Markets were probably the biggest and busiest I’ve seen, but there’s also Maitland Community Markets, The Olive Tree Market and many more. So compared to those, these markets were pretty small. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing worth looking at! We walked down the first row of stalls until something caught my eye, honey! Honey is a classic at independent market stalls, but this is something a little different that I’ve only recently discovered; creamed honey. There was a range of flavours being sold too, like strawberry, lemon, and lime. Plus extra points for the seller being extra sweet. Most people are at markets, but it’s always nice to have a really nice and chatty vendor! He was giving out taste tests of the honey so you could decide which flavour you liked best, and my oh my, did I like the cinnamon! I’ve always loved honey and cinnamon but with the weather cooling down I thought this would be perfect for the pantry!
It may have been a bad idea to visit these markets when we did. I didn’t have a great deal of money for the nonessentials this week, but everything I looked at was just so cute and so well made, and everyone was so nice and passionate about what they had to sell! It took so much effort for me to walk away from the crochet and candle stalls, but not before giving their items a good gander. Good thing my partner was there to bring me back to reality because I definitely would have bought another candle to sit on my shelf for a year or so before actually putting it to use.
I may have had a bit of self-control with most of the market stalls at Glendale City Centre, but this one I could not abide. This one had crystals. If you didn’t know, I have a whole shelf dedicated towards my crystal collection, so whenever I see a crystal store I have to stop and look. And this one was a gold mine! My own personal heaven! My partner knew I was going to be there for a long time and went to listen to the jazz trio that was performing. What a bore. Jk Jk. They had a lot of the common stones you see in any crystal store that I already have on my shelf, but they also had quite a few pieces I hadn’t seen. I finally chose between the crystals I didn’t have and bought a point of strawberry quartz. I know I know, I only bought one piece! But that’s because they also had these beautiful carved wooden sculptures that I was also interested in! Now I just had to choose if I wanted a dragonfly sitting on mushrooms or a snail sitting on mushrooms. I couldn’t look past the snails though, they were just too cute!
Last but not least, food! It’s not a satisfying market shop without getting something from a food truck or market stall, and something I haven’t had in ages is a spiral spud! Everyone must’ve been thinking the same thing, because there was a fair bit of a wait, but I was really in the mood for this chip on a stick so I didn’t care. And when it was finally ready, it was even more delicious than I remember. A perfect end to my first Glendale Farmers and Artisan Markets.
So yes, Glendale Farmers and Artisan Markets are fairly small. But don’t judge a book by its cover because you can still find some great things at small markets. And even if you don’t find much, go check out those food trucks, because they’ll always put a smile on your dile.
All photos in this post were taken by me.
For more information, visit https://glendalecitycentre.com.au/whats-on/glendale-farmers-artisans-market/
The Travel Journal 
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