Hawke’s Bay’s annual Bay View Market back on the go

Eskdale school principal Tristan Cheer continues marking Petane Domain for Saturday's Bay View Market sites, while Brett and Michelle Barnes recover a sign skittled by winds gusting up to 30 knots. Photo / Paul Taylor

One of Hawke’s Bay’s biggest annual market days is set to go Saturday with what may prove a record response after a late cancellation amid the coronavirus crisis last year.

The Bay View Market has otherwise been staged by the Eskdale School PTA at Petane Domain, beside SH2 between Hawke’s Bay Airport and Bay View, almost every year since about 2002. Two years ago it had about 120 stalls and raised about $20,000.

Bu bracing against 30-knot gusts as volunteers marked the grounds late on Friday morning, market-day convener Michelle Barnes said 150 stalls have registered this year and organisers are hoping for excellent proceeds, from vendor site hire, gold-coin “bucket-shaking” at the gates, and the school’s own stalls, including cakes, sausage sizzle, second-hand goods, berry sales, raffles and mystery sticks.

Funds will go towards a new playground in the 164-year-old school’s rebuilding, now under way and including nine new classrooms.

Barnes believes there’s a post-lockdown effect with people wanting to get out and about, and the first-time stalls include some newly established businesses.

It’s an early start for vendors, -from as far as Hamilton, Kawerau, Gisborne and Dannevirke - setting-up from 5am, with the fair running from 9am-2pm.

Last year the market was cancelled at 10 days’ notice when the organisers were told by Napier City Council health and safety staff they were not confident the plan would be able to comply with limits of the Covid-19 level 2 restrictions.

Goods gathered for the market day but which could not be held in storage were then put up at garage sales.

The biggest imponderable this year is the size of the crowd – “thousands”, says Barnes – and the possibility of traffic congestion due to roadworks in the area, which state highways management agency Waka Kotahi NZTA hoped to have completed by Friday.

Barnes said the best advice was to plan ahead and get there early, with the hope the weather would also be in line with predictions.

The regional forecast for Saturday is for a fine morning, with cloudy periods from afternoon with isolated showers, and northwesterlies turning northeasterly for a time in the afternoon.

Among other events outdoors in Hawke’s Bay during the weekend are the Napier Sailing Club single-handed Summer Regatta, and on Sunday Ngati Kahungunu iwi big day out at Splash Planet in Hastings, in conjunction with the annual meeting of Ngati Kahungunu Iwi Inc, and a manu bombing competition at the Havelock North Village Pool.

There are also Picnic Cinema outdoor movies on Saturday at Cornwall Park, Hastings, and Havelock North Village Green, and on Sunday again at Havelock North Village Green.

The Battle in the Bay national-level hip-hop competition at Toitoi in Hastings started on Friday and ends Saturday.

On Sunday rain was forecast to develop about the ranges in the afternoon, possibly heavy, with scattered rain elsewhere and northeasterlies changing to southerly in the afternoon.

About 1pm on Friday, Napier, at about 21C, had the warmest temperature nationwide, with a maximum 24C forecast for Saturday and 22C for Sunday.

Similar temperatures were forecast throughout the region north to Wairoa, but slightly cooler conditions were expected in Central Hawke’s Bay, with sub-20 maximums forecast for Dannevirke, where some heavy rain is expected on Sunday.

MetService confirmed winds at Hawke’s Bay Airport had been gusting up to 30 knots, and up to 60 knots at notoriously blustery Cape Turnagain on the Southern Hawke’s Bay-Wairarapa coast.