Spaced out Thieves Alley event attracts 10,000

A move to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and potential overcrowding by spacing out the stalls in Dunedin’s annual Thieves Alley seemed to pay off at the weekend.

"It was a successful event for the Dunedin community," Dunedin City Council senior events adviser Anna Duncan said.

Lively demonstrations by the Otago Museum’s Tuhura science centre, some colourful fairies, plenty of music and stalls selling everything from Oamaru stone carvings to giant pine cones added to the fun.

Mrs Duncan said that given the presence of several visiting cruise ships, last year’s annual market day had attracted about 20,000 people.

However, there had been a "great vibe" among the estimated 10,000 people who attended this year, in the absence of overseas tourists.

About 170 stalls were operating at the big annual sale event, down from about 300 last year.

The stalls had been spaced out more extensively this year, partly as an anti-Covid-19 social distancing measure, and also to avoid any overcrowding in Bath St, a key initial area for the alley event.

A significantly higher proportion of this year’s stall operators were from the Dunedin and Otago-Southland region, and fewer from elsewhere in the South Island, she said.

Dunedin resident Marie Duke gave the thumbs up to the more spread-out approach for the stalls, and to the associated atmosphere, calling it "so much better".

The event had "got everything" she wanted in a market and there was space for people to "walk around" to see what was on sale, she said.

Sarah Eckhoff, of Dunedin, was also enjoying the event and said she would like to see it held twice a year.