An estimated 6000 people turned out for the annual Kurow Market on Saturday, one of the best attendances in recent years and helped by a warm, cloudy day.
One of the organisers of the event, Carron Cossens, said that was better than last year when the weather leading up to market day affected the turnout.
''Last year the weather was not good and then on market day it was beautiful, so people decided to head to the lakes and rivers to make the most of it,'' she said.
This year, the weather in the Waitaki Valley since Christmas day had been hot and, on some days, calm, giving people a chance to get out.
That encouraged them on Saturday to take a break and go to the market.
This year there were 58 stalls along the main street on State Highway 83 and traffic was diverted around back streets.
That encouraged people to stop on the way through, as well as providing entertainment for holiday-makers around the Waitaki lakes.
The market day used to be held the same day as the Kurow races, on January 30, but it was decided to make it the Saturday before to give more people a chance to attend.
''It also means Kurow businesses get two good days during the holidays,'' she said.
Again this year there was a big selection of stalls selling a wide range of goods, fruit stalls offering local cherries along with strawberries and ice creams, and food from bacon butties to monster venison ''sandwiches''.
