Bringing soul back to the village

Everyone loves a market and now there is a new one to add to your weekend diary, the Umhlali Village Market starting June 27 from 9am till 2pm.

Umhlali resident, Vernon Malyon could no longer watch the Umhlali village turn into a ghost town, one empty shop at a time, so he decided into pump some new life into it.

“The town used to be thriving, but now it is dying, which is why I hope the market will unite people and bring back the village,” said Malyon.

Malyon was astounded at the hugely positive response to his idea and he had no trouble getting permission from the powers that be to set up the market.

“The municipality is happy with the idea and the traffic department has allowed the road to the left of the circle, coming from the N2, to be closed, allowing the whole road and the parking lots to be used for the market,” he said.

About 60 stalls have already been confirmed for the monthly market, offering a wide variety of locally made arts, crafts, organically grown fruits and other delicious foods.

While visitors stroll through the quaint village, Malyon and his musos will be providing live music to keep a swing in everyone’s step.

“The three by three meter stalls cost only R100 each, as I have tried to keep the costs down as much as possible, because the main objective is to get the community together,” he said.

Dolphin Coast residents expressed their delight at the idea on the Courier’s Facebook page:

“I remember this being a thriving place when I was a little girl and I also remember the street parties,” said Valerie Widmann.”We can have our own ”Clarens”,” said Sonja Spalding.

“I always thought Umhlali had such potential as a craft village, tourist destination,” said Fran Jex.

If you would like to get involved, check out the Umhlali Village Market group on Facebook.