Lismore loves a market, as does the rest of the Northern Rivers.

We have been without the popular Lismore Car Boot Market since November 2022. Despite strong community calls for it to make a return to its home base in the undercover car park at Lismore Square, nothing has eventuated.

Following the February 2022 big flood, Harold Fredericks car park was trialled as a temporary venue; however, the weather was an issue. The last post on the Car Boot Market's Facebook page was on January 8 2023, saying they were on an extended break and as soon as there was a reboot date, it would be announced.

Feeling the community's disappointment over the last two and a bit years, Simon Sarkis and Sharon Pepper from the Lismore City Bowling Club have stepped forward to provide an alternative market starting on the weekend of June 28 and 29.

(Lismore City Bowling Club's Sharon Pepper and Simon Sarkis)

Simon approached Sharon and posed the idea of having 15 to 20 stalls inside the Bowlo.

"But as soon as we advertised it, we had this massive influx of people. There's really nothing happening in Lismore at the moment. We've got the car boot markets, but it's pretty quiet," Simon told the Lismore App.

Sharon said the conversation in the Bowling Club has been about the loss of the car boot markets.

"I've had so many people come to me and say the same thing, I used to love the car boot markets. It was a Sunday thing. Once a month, you'd come in and go for a walk around and look at the stalls. Plus, it was a social thing. You would meet up with family or friends, walk around, spend your hard-earned, and have fun.

Simon jumped in, "I used to go too. The thing was, a lot of the stalls there were different. There wasn't one particular genre; it was all different stuff. It was such a great vibe."

Those early discussions, followed by stallholder interest, led to a 40-stall Sunday market day at the Lismore City Bowling Club. The stalls will be inside the Bowlo and spill out to the bowling green on the left side of the club.

Simon and Sharon will be supplying tables and chairs with umbrellas for those who want to sit and have something to eat or drink.

The launch will be held over the weekend of June 28 & 29. Saturday, June 28, will be from 10am to 4pm and Sunday, June 29, from 10am to 2pm.

Simon said the stallholders who have made contact will be selling bric-a-brac, arts and crafts, cookies and cakes, second-hand clothing, antiques, slushies for the kids and a coffee cart for the older visitors. Local identity, Billy Smith, will be playing live music, as will DJ Magnus.

Following the first Bowlo Markets, the plan is to make it a regular event every third Sunday of each month between 8am and 4pm, which is to be confirmed.

That would bring Lismore back to three markets a month: The Channon on the second Sunday, Lismore City Bowling Club on the third Sunday and Nimbin on the fourth, and sometimes fifth, Sunday.

While the first markets will have 40 stallholders, the following Sunday market days could well increase to 50 or more, depending on what Simon and Sharon learn from the first.

"We want to do this slowly rather than rush into it and get it wrong, giving people a bad experience. We'll get together after the first and talk about how we can grow it slowly so people can still have a great time."