Glen Eden Community Markets

Glen Eden Community Markets run once a month, on the third Saturday, in the grounds of Glen Eden Community House. It is a car boot market at heart — fifteen to twenty-five stalls of second-hand finds, homemade goods and whatever neighbours have turned out of the garage — which makes it cheap to browse and easy to leave. A sausage sizzle run as a school fundraiser usually covers lunch.

What lifts it above a straightforward market is the effort put into the children's side. Face painting and arts and crafts are laid on, and through the warmer months there are water balloon fights in the grounds. Each month carries a theme celebrating a different part of the local community, so the stalls and food shift with it rather than repeating. Entry is free, the setting is open enough for younger children to move about, and it is small enough that a family can see the whole thing without a plan.