 It is with a heavy heart that we announce there will not be a December market as hoped. The decision has not been made lightly, and we know how disappointing this outcome is - but at our recent meeting we conceded we are too under resourced at this point in time to ensure the event is Covid safe. We hope our stallholders will now be able to participate in other markets for Xmas sales, and we will continue to support them through the online market at www.torquaycowriemarket.com, increasing posts throughout December in the lead up to Xmas. All going well, we are optimistic about commencing in January 2021 and hope to confirm that soon. Please continue to email your expressions of interest to the Cowrie Market. Cowrie Market is run by a very small group of volunteers, who work tirelessly to make it happen year after year. It's incredible the same committed individuals have created such a long running and beloved event. If we had managed to hold a December market, it would have been the largest event in our region, and that's a risk we're just not quite prepared for at this moment. There are many moving parts to Cowrie Market - we need to work out how to manage summer crowds, how to redesign the layout (which would mean making a tough decision of who can stay), remove key elements like gathering to eat and enjoying music, and find extra volunteers to help. We can't wait to see you in 2021!  Surf Coast Arts Inc committee members proudly participated in the Surf Coast Shire's PORTAL sessions. Each Zoom event is recorded and made available to view through the PORTAL Facebook page - where there are also other discussions, recorded studio tours, music and storybook sessions to explore. The videos we've been directly involved in have been collated for this website under LEARN - just to make it all a bit easier to find! PORTAL is produced by the Surf Coast Shire in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020. Through June, July and August, PORTAL was developed to keep us connected, creative and collaborating – offering an online space to capture the work of our region’s local creatives and how they are adapting to change. Due to the success of the 3 month project, funding was secured to continue PORTAL until into the new year. PORTAL SEASON 2 has been handed over to the community to add their voice to the Surf Coast Arts Trail website and social media. To get involved (& we suggest you do!), please contact the Surf Coast Shire Arts Development Officer Harriet Gaffney. Links SCA videos: www.surfcoastarts.com/portal PORTAL website: www.surfcoastartstrail.com.au PORTAL Facebook: www.facebook.com/surfcoastartstrail PORTAL Instagram: www.instagram.com/surfcoastartstrail  Due to the Victorian Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, the physical version of our new market season unfortunately cannot launch in September 2020 as hoped. So we've created Torquay Cowrie Market Online to showcase and support our fabulous stallholders and musicians! The Torquay Cowrie Market runs every third Sunday of the month from September through to April. SCA will celebrate our regular market day by sharing info and music through Facebook (in particular) and Instagram until we can get back to some form of normality, Start exploring! The website provides links to your favourite stallholder and performer websites, online shops, social media and general contacts, where you can purchase items from them directly, learn more about what they do, or ask any questions you may have. All of these wonderful people are experiencing significant losses due to cancellations relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, so please support them any way you can - especially with Xmas not too far away! Links Website: www.torquaycowriemarket.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/torquaycowriemarket Instagram: www.instagram.com/torquaycowriemarket Cowrie Market artwork/branding: Mark Trinham |
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