Delicious workshops and local markets are back for Taste Local Festival this weekend

Posted on 1 May, 2023

Around the world, autumn is known as the season of harvest, and this weekend, Canberra Centre is offering you the chance to harvest locally-made goodness during their Taste Local Festival.

Taking place from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 May, the Taste Local Festival will kick off with the launch of a market featuring oodles of local vendors and the first of five workshops.

A fun, interactive experience in a beautiful custom-made space, workshops will be held on Level 1 outside Bed Bath and Table and will range from a Canberra Distillery G&T Masterclass (Friday, 6–7 pm) and a Jewellery Workshop with Sinead Buckney (Saturday, 10 am–12 pm) to an Underground Spirits Gin Workshop (Saturday, 2–3 pm), a Yaali Collective Earring Weaving Workshop (Sunday, 11 am–12.30 pm) and finally a winemaking workshop with Contentious Character (Sunday, 2–3 pm). All workshops will feature nibbles, so make sure you let them know your dietary requirements!

Over the weekend, visitors will have the opportunity to browse the market, whose stallholders will range from gin to jewellery to handmade heat packs, just in time for Mother’s Day (hint, hint!) accompanied by live acoustic music.

To freshen up your bar cart at home, you can sample locally made spirits like gin and vodka from The Canberra Distillery and Underground Spirits, while those looking for a zero-alcohol sip can head to Altina Drinks.

While Canberra’s wine region needs no introduction, make sure to swing past Contentious Character Winery and Vineyard 1207 for bottles to stash for the winter months. Joining them in the category of ‘delicious treats’ is the Pretzel Baker (did someone say a pretzel with sprinkles or custard?) and jams, sauces, vinegars and olives from Hundred Acres, a farm located a stone’s throw from the ACT border.

Nesting is also an important part of autumn as we get our homes nice and cosy for the winter months, so make sure to check out Moements beautiful botanical illustrations and Freya Job Art prints for artworks that will freshen up any space. For little ones, swing by Yaali Collective’s stall, where you can find Indigenous Educational toys created by Tanieka and Cleveland Riley, a Wiradjuri husband and wife duo.

Like to keep cosy or have a condition where heat therapy is helpful? The Happy Uterus’s wearable heat packs will be your best friend these winter months and for a treat for the whole body, Yaye’s bath, body and beauty range by Founder Melissa Cole, a proud Warumungu and Luritja woman, drawn on inspiration from bush medicine and the colours and aromas of the Red Centre.

Of course, sometimes you don’t need an excuse to pick up something special and Sophia Anna Jewellery might be the perfect treat or for the passionate gardeners in your life, Bonsai Starter Plants will allow their green thumb to flourish through the cooler months.

Find out more and read market vendors’ stories at canberracentre.qicre.com/Campaigns.