Around $3000 was raised at Sunday’s Māpua Hall Makers Market which will help keep the hall in operation.
The event, which drew in 31 crafty stallholders from Nelson Tasman to sell their handmade wares, was to raise funds for the upkeep of the community hall on the town’s main street, and to pay the salary for the hall’s coordinator.
Māpua Hall committee secretary Hilary Clifton says the vibe was “gorgeous” and “vibrant”.
“It’s just magical, and of course all the makers bring that extra vibe, they’re all lovely, community-minded people who enjoy being able to market their product,” she says.
“We have to spend huge amounts of money to keep it running, the insurance alone last year was somewhere near $23,000, and we’ve now got bits that need redoing.
“It was refurbished in 2013 and it’s starting to age a little bit… the back deck needs replacing, and it will cost $70,000 to be replaced, we’ve got a ceiling problem in one of the side rooms, and the Bill Marris room needs urgent work.”
Hilary says it costs approximately $85,000 per annum to keep the hall operating.
“Roughly 50 per cent of that amount comes from venue and equipment hire, the balance is raised by fundraising which includes the Māpua Hall Makers Market held three times each year.
“We aim to raise between $2000 and $3000 at each market event, needless to say, we are incredibly grateful to our makers and our wonderful community as well as our hall committee.”
