Free Markets

With demand for sustainability, and customers opting for seasonal and local, the many free market days operating around the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago region are increasingly becoming a destination day out.
While some offer the traditional Farmer’s Market style with delicious fresh produce, flowers, fruit and berries, markets also provide the perfect local showcase for the region’s amazingly talented artists and craftspeople.
We investigate the summer line-up at our local free market days.

Queenstown Market

Saturdays – 9am until 4pm
Live music

A long-standing Queenstown Bay lakefront market, this is fast becoming an iconic destination market, featuring a maximum of 60 stalls offering all manner of high quality creations and gift ideas. Market manager Brigit van der Kaag says in addition to the core vendors, frequently there are guest vendors arriving in from out of town with interesting new offerings. “We have a regular vendor from Dunedin and special one-offs like a recent stall-holder from Wellington, but most of the stalls feature local crafts,” she says.
“Everything on offer is hand-crafted. We’re very much an artisan market, with everything from beautiful hand-sewn leather bags, pottery art, and copper work to sheepskin, possum skin and rabbit fur slippers and gloves.” A local jeweller sells gold, silver and copper jewellery with intricately woven precious stones, while a local clothing manufacturer sells amazing fleece and cotton pullovers, dungaree gear-style clothing and bucket hats, all made locally.
Fun fruit-shaped candles, vases, framed creative photography, and works from local artists all grace the waterfront, alongside adults’ and children’s merino clothing.
“It’s a very eclectic market,” says Brigit. There’s always something fresh, new and fun.”

Remarkables Market

Saturdays – 9am until 2pm – December 31 until April 15, 2023
Twilight Food Markets – Wednesdays from January 11 for six weeks – 4pm until 8.30pm
Live music

A popular Saturday market, Remarkables Market is going all out to celebrate summer with its new Wednesday Twilight Food Markets kicking off on January 11. These will run for six weeks, offering delicious dinners, delectable desserts, great live music and entertainment for the kids. From January 18 there will be a bar on offer, showcasing local craft beers, mocktails and cocktails from Crimson Badger Brewing and Cardrona Distillery. A line-up of food trucks, chefs and bakers will serve up everything from pizza, waffles and Zamora steak sandwiches to Nepalese dumplings, Taiwanese food and paella. That will all be topped off with sweet treats from Seven Sweet Sins and ice creams from Cones By the Lake.
Over the holiday period the market will re-open New Year’s Eve. Sustainability is part of the market ethos with no takeaway cups, repurposed pergolas, and the playground recycled from the lakefront, all surrounding the Red Barn – a renovated aircraft hangar.
Remarkables Market averages more than 3000 people a week through the gates over the holidays.

Arrowtown Farmers Market

Sundays – 10am until 2pm – October (Labour Weekend) until April (Easter Sunday) - Library Green
Live music

Set under beautiful established trees opposite Arrowtown’s historic Miners’ Cottages, the Arrowtown Farmers Market is a small boutique market aiming to showcase the best food, art and crafts that the region has to offer. There’s great street food and delicious desserts on offer, topped off by homemade, real fruit ice creams from Cones By The Lake. Canine-friendly, even the doggies don’t miss out with special bacon or banana ice creams for them. Committee chair Sarah Auld says most vendors are local, or use local materials, and there’s a big emphasis on recycling and repurposing in the crafts on offer. The market’s had to pivot since 2019 and has re-emerged stronger than ever, offering everything from felt craft using local wool, candles and photography to stunning copper art, wonderful woodwork and art using local stones. With a great line-up of local bands and performers there’s also often a bit of boogie under the trees. 

Alexandra Summer Market

Saturdays – 10am until 2pm (late November until Waitangi Weekend, with markets at Labour Weekend and Easter)
Special Clyde Summer Markets will be held at St Mungo’s Union Parish Church on Sunday, January 1, and Sunday, February 5
Live music each week

Alexandra’s Pioneer Park is humming and all a bustle on market day with masses of interesting local craft and produce stalls, featuring everything from goat’s cheese and gooseberry chutney to doggie coats, garden sculptures, fashion labels, health products and pre-loved second-hand stalls. Central Otago stone fruit and berries are stand-out stars and, after New Year, volunteers from the Dunstan Eco Group run a stall, selling donated produce and berries from local orchardists and growers. All of those proceeds are donated to the local food bank, which is a wonderful initiative, says market spokesperson Barbara Withington. Out of town stallholders regularly sell everything from handmade soaps to glass-fired beads and jewellery.
While coffee and real fruit ice-cream are regular attendees, food trucks often turn up from out of town and more are always welcome. Profits from stall fees are donated to local charities at the end of the season.
Variety is the attraction in Alexandra and at times during the busy Christmas peak they’ve had more than 70 stalls, with numbers varying week to week from 15 to 50 stalls.
The two Clyde Markets will feature many Alexandra vendors, as well as other interesting new ones, including a stall from St Mungo’s church selling baking and plants.

Cromwell Farmer’s and Craft Market

Sundays – 9am until 1pm (Labour Weekend until Anzac Weekend)
Live music (occasional DJ)

In the stone fruit capital of the country where fresh produce is plentiful, it’s hard to beat the Cromwell Farmer’s and Craft Market, a long-standing market in the Old Cromwell Heritage Precinct.
Cherries will be first up pick of the crop this summer with the stone fruit season to follow. Market manager Amanda Dalgliesh says Cherry Tree Farm is always on hand with seedlings and herbs, locally-grown tomatoes, cucumber and beetroot, freely offering knowledge to get would-be gardeners started.
ollens, platters made out of old Central Otago wine barrels, dried flowers, stunning photographs of local scenery and other local artwork.
“There’s just a nice community vibe,” says Amanda. “People grab a coffee and wander around the stalls, chatting to the stallholders about their produce and crafts,” she says. “It’s the perfect showcase for the Central Otago region where visitors can experience Central Otago fruit and vegetables, and the incredible creative talents we have around here.” Vendors from Roxburgh, Alexandra and Cromwell, throughout Central Otago, fill the 25 to 30 stalls.

Wanaka Artisan Market

Thursdays – 2pm until 6pm, year-round

Nestled alongside Wanaka’s Bullock Creek in front of Speight’s Ale House, the Wanaka Artisan Market features all manner of quality craft, including homespun knitwear, pottery, wooden household products and jewellery to local stone fruit and berries.
Badges are made while you wait and Mount Aspiring College students regularly run a stand selling wares produced during their entrepreneurial studies. Kawakawa creams, oils and teas are on offer among the 15 or so stalls, with out of town vendors arriving periodically too, selling the likes of pear juice from Nelson.
President and potter John Kalb says the Christmas Market will be much larger than normal with a wider variety of products, hopefully including an ice cream stand, with salsas, elderflower cordials and greenstone dishes and jewellery from Haast. “There will be a wealth of great gift ideas so everybody’s encouraged to come along and enjoy the wonderful Christmas atmosphere,” says John.

Athol Sunday Markets 

Every Sunday, year-round, weather permitting
10am until 2pm, depending on demand

Set in the heart of rural Northern Southland, 55kms south of Queenstown every Sunday outside the local Athol Shop Café, the Athol Sunday Markets are a craft and bargain hunter’s delight.
Stalls range from beautifully handcrafted Kozi Toez possum, rabbit and sheepskin slippers, including rabbit fur booties for babies, and insulated sheepskin, cow, goat, possum and deer hide stubbie holders, to bric-à-brac goods and fresh plants. Kozi Toez creator and market co-ordinator Jan Nicholson says the Aussies just love her stubbie holders and she also sells rabbit, goat, possum and cow hide handbags and full hides.
Star of the markets is local internationally-experienced chef Dean who rises early on market day to bake an incredible range of pastries, cakes and tempting tarts and desserts from all around the world. Almond croissants, pain au chocolat, Portuguese custard tarts, enormous New York chocolate chip cookies with just the right gooey consistency inside, and six or seven fudge flavours – gingernut, raspberry chocolate and Jaffa among them, are swiftly devoured.
Peter arrives too with his ‘Man Cave’ of garage collectables, Matt with his organic vegetables, herbs and honey and Jan’s husband with his framed vinyl LP wall art.
Each month stall fees are donated to a local charity.