We’d read about it … 60 plus food and drink stalls … capacity for 10,000 inside a wharf shed and surrounding outside area … live music … street artists.

But we weren’t expecting this…….

There were no queues. We paid $10 entry fee and wandered in. Due to rain on this opening night, it was rather quiet outside. Inside was a total wonder. A multitude of stalls bordered the space, with long tables and benches filling the central area.

Live music added to the atmosphere and general buzz. We walked around, perused the various stalls, as we decided what we wanted to eat. There was so much choice, of produce, of cooking styles. Food and drinks were priced from $5 to $10 with a few full meal plates at $20. This made it easy to sample a variety of dishes. Between us, we had stag snags, wallaby burritos, scallop quesadillas, venison or rabbit pies and cheesecake desserts.

I started with a warm spiced cider, much nicer than traditional mulled wine and ideal for a cold rainy winter night. We did not try the oyster shooters – bloody mary shots with an oyster in the glass!

We found a gap on a bench so sat down to eat. The atmosphere was wonderful. Everyone chatted to their neighbours. We had a three generation family on one side of us, including a six week old baby who slept through the noise and music. Two “middle aged” couples enjoyed bottles of wine on our other side. They left and a young couple nabbed the bench space as they juggled plates and drinks.

When we’d finished our food, we wandered back outside as the rain had stopped. There were bands playing under marques, benches surrounding open fires and braziers. Food cooking on huge barbecues. People were eating outside and enjoying the entertainment and fire jugglers.

We had more drinks outside. I sampled a hot gin based tea infused with grapefruit and pepper berry. Delicious and warming. It was lovely to see so many people, kids to oldies, all enjoying themselves, all relaxed, no pushing or shoving despite the huge crowd. What an amazing experience and feast.