Gold Coast & Hinterland Artisan Market
A twice-yearly artisan market at the Mudgeeraba Showgrounds where the makers demonstrate the craft as well as sell it.
Also known as GC & Hinterland Artisan Market, GCHAM.
About this market
Two market days a year is an unusual way to run anything, but it is what makes this one worth planning around. The Gold Coast & Hinterland Artisan Market takes over the Mudgeeraba Showgrounds once in autumn and once in spring, and the makers come from across the hinterland and well beyond it.
Watching things get made
The demonstrations are the difference. Most artisan markets sell finished work and leave you to imagine the process; here the vendors set up to show the craft as well as the result, which changes both the pace of the market and what you learn walking through it. Around that sit live music, food, home decor, unique gifts and the everyday essentials that keep a market from being purely decorative. Five hours, 9am to 2pm.
Market at a glance
Twice a year also means the stall list can be assembled rather than filled. Vendors travel for it, and the showground gives the market room that a hinterland village green would not.
This is the important one. Several directories list this as a weekly market trading four days a week, which it has never been. It runs on two days a year, one in autumn and one in spring, and the exact dates move. Find the current date from the organisers rather than assuming a pattern, because there is no pattern to assume.
Good to know before you go
Bring cash and a bag, and allow more time than a five hour window suggests you need, because the demonstrations are the thing that slows people down. The showgrounds are on Mudgeeraba Road at Worongary, about fifteen minutes inland from Burleigh, with parking on site. If you want the hinterland market experience more often than twice a year, Mudgeeraba village runs its own regular markets nearby, which are a different proposition entirely but scratch a similar itch.
Frequently Asked Questions
- When is the Gold Coast & Hinterland Artisan Market on?
- Twice a year, once in autumn and once in spring, from 9am to 2pm. The dates move, so check the organisers before you go rather than assuming a pattern.
- Where is it held?
- Mudgeeraba Showgrounds, 115 Mudgeeraba Road, Worongary, in the Gold Coast hinterland.
- What makes it different to a normal market?
- The artisans demonstrate their craft as well as selling it, so you can watch things being made rather than only buying the finished object.
- Is there an entry fee for Gold Coast & Hinterland Artisan Market?
- Free