Next Market - Sunday April 28th 2024 8am - 2.30pm

Bangalow Markets, simply stunning

The Bangalow Market Day is a treat for day trippers, a retreat from the city and the rush of the Gold Coast. Bangalow is a window into another world. Come for the day.

Part of the continuing success of the market is the beautiful grounds the markets are held in, which are dominated by eleven huge camphor laurel trees which provide welcome shade and rustling leaves and a magic forest atmosphere.

The market is a day out for people, and health and safety regulations prevent pets from also attending so if you are coming to the market you will have to leave your dog at home.

A percentage of the market profit each month is distributed to Bangalow Community Groups on a rotating basis. The market then benefits the whole community and fulfils its role as a community market.

Parking is available in the showgrounds at the market. Parking fee is $2

Profits from parking fees are used to maintain and improve the showground. The grounds are managed by a committee of community volunteers.
Bangalow Markets - Market Stalls

A day at the market

The market is right in the middle of town in the showgrounds. If you drive, parking in the streets is a premium but you can park in to the showgrounds themselves right at the market.

Where to start and which way to go…the market pathways wind around between trees and follow lanes. Sights, sounds and smells are all catered for, the aroma of foods and perfumes, entertainers, bands and the colourful stall after stall beckoning down the path.

A local band (a different one each market) provide entertainment as you sit under the dappled shade of the leopard trees enjoying the offerings from one of the many food stalls.

Buskers perform, conjuring up little unexpected delights that break your concentration from all that’s on show.

You can make it restful or hectic, you can rush or dawdle, come early or late, you can stay for lunch, you can take in the whole village with a walk around or you can sit under a tree but a day at the market will be a Sunday you’ll remember.

Bangalow Market is on the 4th Sunday each month and in some months the 4th Sunday is not the last Sunday in the month, and they are marked with an *.

  • 22nd January*
  • 26th February
  • 26th March
  • 23rd April*
  • 28th May
  • 25th June
  • 23rd July*
  • 27th August
  • 24th September
  • 22nd October*
  • 26th November
  • 24th December*
  • 15 minutes from Byron Bay.
  • 25 minutes from Lismore.
  • 45 minutes from Gold Coast.
  • 1 hour & 45 minutes from Brisbane.

Scenic drives are a feature of the region and although you can travel to and from Bangalow on highways it’s the byways and back roads that may make your trip to the markets more memorable.

Jim’s Tours departs Byron Bay at 10.00am, phone 0401 592 247.

The Nimbin Shuttle Bus leaves from Byron Bay Visitors Centre at 11.30am, phone 02 6680 8558.

There’s usually a jumping castle (some promo pics may show a ferris wheel but it is no longer at the market) but there is face painting and sometimes tye dying.

Entertainers (jugglers, puppeteers, mime artists, human statues, musicians and more) delight kids and adults with their performances.

Food and drinks and places to sit and sites and colours to see, the little kids will have a ball.

In 1982 Jeff Prichard saw the Bangalow Showgrounds as the perfect location for an outdoor market. Large shady trees, parking space, power and toilet facilities and a community that welcomed the alternative nature and excitement the markets would bring. He organised and cajoled forty stallholders who made up the first market.

Over the years changes and improvements have resulted in a market today that hosts 320+ stalls. Many of the original stalls still exist. The markets are now run by The Bangalow Park Trust, a voluntary community committee, who are responsible for the care and maintenance of the grounds. The Committee operate under the aegis of the Byron Shire Council and Shane Olive has taken over the Manager role after Jeff Pritchard started and ran the Market for 40 years. The market still evolves showcasing new crafts and exotic foods providing a launch pad for entertainment talent. Many of the shops and industries in the Bangalow/Byron Bay region had their genesis as market stalls.

Scroll to Top