A community organisation is holding its first community market on October 31 at Salford shopping centre in an attempt to bring people together.
Bridgewater Foundation Salford: Step into action are celebrating community and small businesses with bringing back the missed market at the shopping centre. The historic collection of stalls stood in place in Pendleton between 1970 and 2012. After being non-existent for about 14 years they could be making a permanent comeback.
Gemma Fish said: “The inspiration really came from listening to local people. Following the creation of the Pride in Pendleton Fund, a community survey was carried out to find out what residents wanted to see in their area, and one of the biggest things people said they missed was having a market.
“I personally used to love the market on the Precinct, and so did the whole community. It was somewhere people went not just to shop, but to have a wander, bump into people they knew and have a good chat. That’s where the idea grew from, and by working together with Pride in Pendleton and Salford Shopping Centre, we’ve been able to turn that idea into our first community market.
“For me, it’s about much more than putting on a few stalls. It’s about bringing people back together, supporting local businesses and hopefully bringing back a little bit of that community spirit we all remember.”
The market hopes to bring around 15 local sellers and 10 community groups across Salford and as Halloween is fast approaching there will be activities for children.
Families can look forward to face painting, children’s crafts, a meet and greet with Elphaba and Glinda from Wicked and a fancy dress parade from 2:30pm.
Gemma said: “We wanted to make sure families could come along and enjoy themselves without having to spend money. We know how difficult things are financially for so many people at the moment, so having free activities for children was really important to us.”
The community market is a free event and hopes to bring the community together to enjoy a fun day out, with hopes it can become a big event in Salford.
Gemma said: “Our hope is that this will be the first of many, and we’d love to establish a regular monthly community market at Salford Shopping Centre.
“We know we can’t change everything overnight, but if we can play even a small part in bringing people back together and creating a bit more positivity and community spirit, then that’s a great place to start. Hopefully, with the support of local residents, businesses and our partners, this market can grow into something really special for Salford.”
