Norwich Free Market

Have you visited Norwich Free Market yet?
 
 
I went down in October to see what was happening.  It is located behind Theatre Royal in the car park area and spreads across to the Well Being centre.  It was packed with local businesses, artisans, fashion, arts and food, and most importantly a really laid-back atmosphere.

 
I asked Rahima, one of the organisers, how the market come about. 
 
The market came about following a soup kitchen that the community of the Ihsan Mosque ran during Ramadan this year.  Due to the lockdown we were unable to hold our usual fast breaking together in the mosque. Aware that this was a very difficult time for many people we decided to make soup not just for the Muslims, but for anyone who was in need and serve it for collection or delivery. After Ramadan we wanted to do more to help people in Norwich and so we came up with the Norwich Free Market, as it was obvious that the people who are really being affected in this are small traders. We wanted to help people to help themselves and provide a space for people to safely socialise and feel a sense of community………..(Theatre Royal Norwich and the Well Being centre came up trumps)
 
The market follows the rules the traditional Islamic market where there are no fees for stallholders and places cannot be reserved. …  Obviously it would not be possible for people just to turn up on the day in the hope of getting a pitch, so each month we invite our registered traders to send in an email at a specified time, approx 2-3 weeks ahead of the next market, and we take the first traders to apply.  Last month we were full in less than a minute!
 
I think it is important to make it clear this is open to any local traders.
 
As I entered the market there were a number of local fashion and artisan stalls.  One stall dealing with everything seaweed, make sure you give him a look.  There was jewellery, clothes and a range of gifts that could resolve your Christmas dilemmas.