PHOTOS: Prince Street Marketta lights up Grafton
Published on 24 May 2023
Food vendors ran out early as local businesses involved underestimated the fantastic community support for the Prince Street Marketta.
More than five thousand people filed into Prince Street in the Grafton CBD throughout the evening to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the event, which featured an amazing variety of street food and refreshments, live entertainment from a range of local performers, and fun activities for the kids.
Local businesses who served street food included Annola Thai, Crown Hotel, Heart & Soul Wholefood Cafe, Toast Espresso, Vines at 139, Flames Trees Cafe & Cakery, Grafton Bakery Cafe,Rubony's Cafe and 1851 Espresso Bar & Cafe, while, the Ashley Albert Performing Arts dancers offered a delicious American menu as a fundraiser for their upcoming USA Tour.
Meanwhile the Crown Hotel set up a successful licensed pop-up bar area with Bent Bridge Brewing's locally brewed range of craft beer available.
All other hospitality businesses on Prince Street and many other retail stores opened their doors for the event.
The main stage at the Fitzroy Street roundabout hosted an awesome lineup featuring local artists Eli Fahey, Hats Off and Ryan Martin, Uncle Ken Gordon's Welcome to Country, Lennox Monaghan and Garimaa Ngahri, with additional performances from and Ashley Albert Performing Arts, Grafton District Services Club Pipe Band and the Thai Community Dancers.
Kids activities included free face painting, balloon animals and oversized games provided by headspace Grafton. Meanwhile, Grafton Regional Gallery will hosted a designated art space with workshops.
The Prince Street Marketta was a collaboration between Clarence Valley Council, Grafton Chamber of Commerce and the Grafton Jacaranda Festival. It was a celebration of Prince Street and part of the Rediscover Grafton project to reinvigorate the Grafton CBD, which is fully funded by the NSW Government's Streets As Shared Spaces program to stimulate local economic recovery.
Check out more amazing photos below courtesy of Chloe Van Dorp - Simon Hughes Photography...
