Festival & Events

TRAVELLER?S RAP Hobart?s hypnotically beautiful waterfront is a busy place but every Saturday it pauses to takes a breath while one of Australia?s finest markets at nearby Salamanca Place swings into gear. Sandwiched between restored 1830s sandstone warehouses and elegant parklands fronting the Derwent River, this historic precinct offers everything from farm-fresh produce to tarot readings and raspberry chilli beer in a celebration of art and culture that has everyone talking ? and returning for more. THE EXPERIENCE It?s 7:30am and we meander through a maze of stalls to our breakfast destination at the Retro Caf? on Salamanca Place. The cacophony of market day already dominates the street. Lyn and Matt, friends we had met on Tasmania?s west coast, had arrived in town and we organised to meet them for French Toast, spicy scrambled eggs and a morning of market madness. The Retro occupies front row centre and the scene unfolds as our morning protein and caffeine fix kicks in. Directly outside the caf?, a spruiker offers new season apples for one dollar a kilogram. Next to him, a flower stall is ablaze with colour picked earlier in the day from the Huon Valley, and on the other side a large, bald man sells delicately turned figures crafted from aromatic sassafras and huon pine. Two

things become apparent as we explore almost 400 stalls. Firstly, there?s very little trash amongst many treasures and, secondly, the prices are good ? unusual for such a popular market. The reason for this becomes clear as we listen to the conversations around us and Brian, who sells antique telephones, puts the situation into perspective. ?Sure, there?s plenty of tourists, but half the people here are locals,? he points out. ?You?re lucky today, it?s fine and quite mild, but it?s a long winter here ? too cold for the tourists. We have to appeal to the locals first, they are our staple trade. You need quality and a good price to do that. The rest follows.? Brian?s right, basic economics I guess. And Salamanca is a better market experience because of it. Well, that?s until you taste raspberry chilli beer. After leaving Brian I?m captivated by an energetic, bearded man doing a roaring trade from a large yellow ice bucket. ?Come on son, get into this. Cures everything and turns you into a sexual tyrant! Like having a circus in your mouth! Brewed fresh here in the Huon Valley.? ?I?m game,? I say. ?Give me a try.? Let me tell you, raspberry and chilli are mutually exclusive foodstuffs, especially when brewed to form a beverage. It?s obviously no coincidence that Tasmanian Fine Ice

Cream has a nearby stall and a Macadamia and Cointreau cone restores the equilibrium. I find Karen exploring the fresh produce offered by the local Hmong community. These Laoation migrants elevate fruit and vegetable displays to an art form ? the colour, presentation and aromas tempting a steady stream of buyers. ?Incredible market,? she says. ?I want to buy everything!? ?Come on, I?ll buy you morning tea. Let?s find Lyn and Matt.? ?Look! Raspberry chilli beer!? she shouts. ?Trust me,? I say. ?That?s one circus you don?t want in your mouth.?