The first thing you notice about the new Point Village Market in Dublin's Docklands is its accessibility. Stepping off the train at Hueston, I jumped onto a Luas right outside the door, which took me directly to the market.
(pic: Clodagh McKenna at the new Point Village Market)
Walking in, the scale of the place is immediately impressive. There are four streets of stalls of appreciable variety and well chosen quality: far more recessionista than fleamarket. There's vintage records in great nick, jewelery, art, furniture, clothes, all looking dapper to boot.
Stalls have been setting aside for art and design students, and for house clear out/yard sales, creating a very current buzz about the place.
The smells, sights and sounds of a cornucopia of foods and drinks, from pies and curries to cup cakes and coffees, abound around. Clowns twist balloons for kids, while comedians regale the wanderers on an oversized speaking chair.
Further in, the Gig Rig off in the distance serenades and sways the shoppers with sweet soul music � Dublin's soul music festival is on here today, and there's German wheat beer on tap, popcorn and hot dogs.
I take a right, and the Pi�ce de r�sistance, the farmers' market. This is indeed impressive, with some of Ireland's most prominent farmers market stalwarts having made the trip. Indeed, stallholders at Midleton like Kevin Hillard from Just Food, Philip Little of the Little Apple Company, and Arun Kapul from Green Saffron's spices are all present..
They are briskly busy - Arun Kapul has to be the most implacably engaging trader in Ireland, never short of a way to converse and coax the customer in.
The cookery demo tent features celeb chefs both established and up and coming, from Clodagh McKenna to Donal Skehan.
There's plenty of primary staples, or what the Americans call pro-duce, like Offaly's Quarrymount meats, a slow food cheese stall, Ring of Kerry Lamb and the Dublin and Meath vegetable growers.
Truth be told, the start of day one, Saturday the 29th May, was a bit quiet, due to rain and a lunchtime launch. The Afternoon was certainly busier.
Day two, Sunday 30th started at a yawningly slow pace, as Sunday's often do. However, by the afternoon this was perhaps the busiest market Ireland has even seen, with estimates of up to 11,000 wandering through. It certainly seemed Electric Picnic or Grafton Street busy at times.
The Sunday saw even more frilly extras, with crazy golf, kids bungee, and a second stage accompanying the Carosel and other vintage fun fair rides.
I spoke to nearly all of the stallholders at the farmer's market. Those with pret a manger foods were very happy, those with food to take home and cook were optimistic: hopeful that people would have a look and soon start to bring shopping bags to do their proper week's purchasing.
Thus far, this is a glorious place to wander around, with an awful lot of attractions and distractions. Most attendees seem to be under 40 and plenty have young kids.
This 'civic space' is the brianchild of Harry Crosbie, and it is a core part of the rejuvenation of Dublin's docklands.
"I believe this market will follow on from the success we've had with the 02 music venue and be a part of Dubliners' lives like the Dandelion Market. I used to hang out there when I was a hippie," said Crosbie last week.
A delay in planning has held back some of the more grand elements for now. These include a 40 foot outdoor cinema screen and a permanent outdoor stage.
Other attractions due include a 60 metre big wheel, outdoor yoga, art workshops, graffiti walls, fashion shows, and urban dance/sport demonstrations like Capoeira and skateboarding.
I spoke to one of the organisers of the farmers' market area, John Collery, about this civic space notion. �Its a place for Dubliners to come and socialise, to buy some produce, to learn how to cook some meals, to just bring their kids and have a day out really� he tells me: �to bring a bit of vibrancy back into the city.�
I put it to John Collery, who with his colleague Gareth Granville is also involved in Cork's Mahon Point and Limerick's Crescent Shopping Centres' farmers' markets, that there is something distinct about this Point Village Market:
Unlike other markets, shopping centers and indeed many modern urban spaces, while there is the opportunity to engage in a financial transaction here, there is not the compulsion.
As Tommy Tiernan once put it; try just hanging around in a bank for half an hour, and see how far you get.
�There is no compulsion to spend whatsoever really� according to Collery, warming to the implication. �Look at the layout of the place � the demonstrations are free, the music is free, there's kid's rides, tasters of food. And you can meet your local producer, and some of the best producers from across the country really. You can have a day out here.�
He emphasises the fact that the farmers' market will be specifically about foods to take home and cook: �We want to take back that idea of a farmers' market as somewhere the farmer comes to sell produce�.
�We do have some food to go elements here at the farmers market end� he goes on. �For example, we have Goldriver farm from Wicklow, doing a spit roast pig, and selling their organic vegetables. All of the ingredients that go with the spit roast come from the produce available here. So your apple sauce will come from Holligans in Ballyderrin, your bread from the Pretzel bakery here in Dublin, the leaves from Goldriver itself� he says, pointing out the stalls one by one.
Sure enough, later in the day, I catch a cookery demo from Ballyderrin's Pam Holligan, who is waxing lyrical about the quality of the Dublin Meath growers' fresh basil and salad leaves that she's used for a dish. And that, I suppose, is the point.
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