Welcome to the Bellingen Spring Plant Fair held on 14 September 2024

To be part of the Bellingen Plant Fair we ask you come from the mid north coast and sell plants, or products associated with plants. We especially welcome native and food plants. If you meet this criteria, we invite you to register your interest for a stall. Before applying for a stall please read the below “Terms & Conditions”. You need to agree and comply to attend.

Please watch for our Facebook posts and LIKE/SHARE with friends/family to help spread the good word.

Stallholder information

• Book stall by clicking on above tab (to be posted up soon).  
• You will know the booking went through because you receive a copy of your booking via email. This is not the actual booking but a notification confirming we received.
• When we receive your booking, we will reply with a site number and further instruction, along with BEC bank details so you can pay your fee.
• Please reply to this email asap to confirm your attendance, send insurance, confirm payment, and ask any questions.
• After receiving the booking email please pay your fee asap using your name as the reference. Don’t leave it too late as you may lose your position. Stall sites are limited, so please book, pay and confirm early to secure your site.
• If you have confirmed and paid for your site but need to cancel, please do so as early as possible so we can refill the site BUT most importantly, please cancel before the the Sunday before the market, to get a full refund. No refunds will be given if you cancel after the Sunday before the Plant Fair

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Market day procedure

• Please arrive at the park from 6am-7am, at the designated gate
• Permanent stallholders can go straight in.
• Casual stallholders must wait at gate and someone will take you to your site.
• When setting up in the morning, please park close to your site (so other cars can pass) and quickly unpack.
• Take your car out and return to set up. This helps alleviate traffic congestion.
• Please park a couple of streets away so your customers can park closer.
• Unless organised with Coordinator, all cars must be out of park by 7.30am.
• Plant/product raffle – We ask each stallholder to donate a plant or product to our raffle, drawn at lunchtime. Please be so kind as to deliver your donation to the Bellingen Environment Centre marquee, on Church St side and we will wander around early to collect. Thanks so much for your support.
• Pack up is from 2pm, no cars to enter the park before then.
• Report any incidents or feedback to BEC crew and/or coordinator
• Please take your garbage/waste home and leave your site clean.
• DO NOT use garbage or skips bins for your rubbish. thanks
• Please endeavour to be out of the park before 3pm

 

STALLHOLDER GUIDELINES

Please read and agree to the below before booking the Plant Fair. By submitting the booking form and paying your stall fee, you are agreeing to abide by the Stallholder Guidelines and we will hold you to it 🙂 . Thank you for your support and cooperation.

General

• Covid restrictions have eased but the Plant Fair will support stalls wishing to use masks, but they are not compulsory for an outdoor event. Same for QR code and sanitiser. Media reports Covid is on the rise, so please stay smart and safe.
• Advise any changes to the Plant Fair.
• Sites are not the property of stallholders. They cannot be sold, bought, hired, leased, rented, or traded.
• No animals or livestock can be sold at the Plant Fair.
• No generators or open fires
• Plant Fair crew reserves the right to deny access to any Stallholder on the grounds of product/service, safety, health, space restrictions within park, or breach of these Stallholder Guidelines.
• The Bellingen Plant Fair reserves the right to alter times/ sites, without notice.
• Every stall holder to donate one item for the BEC Plant Fair Raffle. The item must be presentable and not damaged, dying, or unappealing. Thanks for your support.
• Fees are subject to annually increases including CPI decided by BEC Inc.
• After confirming and paying for your site, if you need to cancel, please do so before the Monday before the market to get a refund. Late notification and no shows will not get a refund unless it is an emergency.
• Sorry no dogs allowed in the park during Plant Fair.
• Smile, have a wonderful day and happy trading.

Vehicles and Parking

• Set-up is from 6 am sharp. To help public traffic flow, there is no vehicle queuing in Church Street (see map above).
• For Zone A & B, please turn at the Shell Service Station into Ford Street, then immediately right into the lane behind the main street (Creek Lane) to join the queue. For Zone C, continue along Ford Street to Park Street and join the queue (See Map).
• Please limit vehicle speed within the Plant Fair Park to WALKING PACE.
• No vehicles to drive onto the football playing field
• All vehicles need to be out of the market area by 7:30am sharp, as directed by the traffic controller.
• Keep parking around the Plant Fair perimeter clear for your Plant Fair customers – ensure you park at least one street away to maximise customer access to your stalls.
• Stallholder vehicles may stay in the grounds but only with prior approval by Plant Fair Coordinator beforehand. Eligible reasons for leaving your car in are – your area has ample space, your car forms part of stall, or health reasons.
• Please follow directives from Plant Fair crew while on the grounds, on entry and departure.
• Re-admission to the grounds to pack up begins at 2.00 pm.

Licences

• Stallholders must carry and clearly display appropriate licences as required by local, state, or federal laws and these Bellingen Plant Fair Guidelines.
• Applicable licences include Food Safety, Food Safety Supervisor, Council Cert, and 2nd hand Dealers Licence.
• Stalls will be subject to random checks from various authorities including Office of Fair Trading, Bellingen Shire Council Weed Officers and Health Inspectors, Ag Dept.

Site Management

• Stallholders must ensure their displays, tables and marquees are secure against tipping or taking off in the wind.
• Stallholders are to provide their own weather protection for themselves and their customers.
• If the grounds are wet and slippery underfoot, stallholders need to bring suitable ground covering i.e., old carpet, straw, sawdust, weed mat or alike, to reduce risk of people slipping on their site.
• Unless threatened by extreme inclement weather the Bellingen Plant Fair will go ahead.

Waste and Recycling

• The Bellingen Plant Fair actively supports the health of our environment, encouraging waste minimisation and recycling.
• Stallholders MUST minimise unnecessary packaging, use only biodegradable or recyclable containers.  NO PLASTIC
•  Food stalls to use biodegradable cups, straws, utensils, plates etc
• Plant stalls to use bags or boxes that microbes can deal with which are cellulose and starches essentially – paper, cardboard, jute, hessian, raw cotton, corn starch. Reusable bags are the best way and BEC will have these to sell.
• Do not use ‘degradable’ plastic as it simply deteriorates into small pieces, it is different to ‘bio-degradable.’
• Direct your customers to BEC stall to purchase useful environmental carry bags.
• Three green waste bins are provided, so please use correctly, and PLEASE minimize your general waste.

                 green – compostable      yellow – recycling      red – general waste

• Please take home ALL your rubbish and dont use our garbage or skips beans as we don’t have the capacity. Thanks for cooperating.
• All stallholders are responsible for leaving their site clean and rubbish free.
• Disposal of grey water is to be in the gully trap behind the stadium
• You are welcome to take ‘pots’ from the pot recycling bin (free!)

Conduct and Conflict Resolution

• As the Bellingen Plant Fair is a community event, we ask that everyone conduct themselves in a cordial and mutually respectful manner while onsite.
• Please follow the directives of Plant Fair crew.
• Any issues, disputes, or grievances between stallholders or with Plant Fair crew, to be reported to the Plant Fair Coordinator for a resolution.
• Plant Fair Crew and Coordinator has the right to deny attendance or remove from the Plant Fair, any stallholder behaving badly, and considered to be dangerous or offensive to the public or deemed to reflect badly on the reputation of the Bellingen Plant Fair, which contravenes Plant Fair Guidelines or is in breach of the Law.
• If you wish to dispute a management decision you can do so by addressing a letter to: The Secretary, Bellingen Environment Centre, 4 / 1 Church Street Lane, Bellingen 2454.

Specific Plant Trader Guidelines

• The Bellingen Plant Fair aims to restrict the spread of serious, invasive, and environmental weeds by restricting their sale and promoting local native alternatives. Stallholders MUST avoid selling plants which have the potential to become environmental problems. PLEASE CHECK your plants carefully to ensure any plants brought to the Plant Fair are disease–free and do not have the potential to become environmental problems as listed by the Australian Government website, at https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/weeds/weeds/lists/index.html

Myrtle Rust information site at:

https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive-species/diseases-fungi-and-parasites/myrtle-rust

• Please also ensure your Plant stock meets the following eligibility criteria to ensure a high quality of stock is sold to public. We have strict criteria for plants sold and purchased at the Plant Fair. They must be:
• healthy, and in healthy potting mix
• weed-free
• each plant labelled clearly, with correct plant name
• have a good ‘root ball’, (except in stock labelled “bare-rooted”) which means the plant has had sufficient growing time (average 4 – 6 months after repotting), to develop a decent size root ball after transplanted into the pot, ensuring the plant continues to thrive after purchase and replanting.
• “Bare-rooted” stock should be in weed free potting mix and clearly labelled as ‘bare-rooted’

Specific Food Trader Guidelines

• All prepared hot food stalls must have insurance, food safety, a Food Supervisor and Council Cert.
• All Food Stall operators must clearly display all required licences and certificates.
• Food must be served in compostable containers, utensils, cups. NO PLASTIC FULL STOP.
• All heating appliances and fryers kept out of reach of the public.
• Gas bottles, appliances, leads to be inspected/tagged regularly by qualified person for compliance with OH&S requirements.
• BYO cleaning, hygiene equipment, cold and hot storage facilities.
• Appropriate fire extinguishers and fire blankets are to be on hand.
• Random checks from Health Department occur occasionally, so ensure you are legal and safe.
• Stallholders are responsible for taking home all their rubbish. Please do not place in skip bins.
• Stallholders are responsible for removal and disposal of all grey water.
• Stallholders are responsible for removal and disposal of any bulk waste. Please do not place in skip bins.

Electricity

• An electricity application form must be completed and lodged with Plant Fair Co-ordinator before the market.
• All electricity cords are to be at least 3m above ground.
• All electrics must be inspected and tagged regularly by a qualified electrician for compliance with OH&S requirements.
• Any electricity cords found running hot, will be disconnected.
• Stallholders cannot increase equipment/power use without prior approval.
• Stallholders should carry appropriate safety equipment e.g., extinguishers, fire blankets.
• Stallholders to keep and maintain safety check log from electrician.
• Stallholders will be allocated a (one) power point with a fee. Please do not plug in anywhere else.
• Stallholders not complying to market guidelines, will be disconnected.
• No fuel generators or open fires allowed.

Cancellation Policy

• Once booked, paid, and confirmed, we hold the site for you so please come on the day. If by chance you need to cancel, do so before the Monday before the market to receive a refund. Advise after this date and the fee is non-refundable, unless you are sick, or it was an emergency. Please let us know early if you need to cancel so we can refill the site.
• If the BEC cancel the market due to extreme weather or unsafe grounds, you will be advised, and your fee refunded. A Plant Fair cancellation post will be placed on Facebook, Instagram, and this webpage along with a message on the phone.
• If we go ahead in rainy weather (we are a plant fair!)  and you do not turn up, you will not get a refund.

Thank you for your support of the Bellingen Plant Fair. Your cooperation in following the above procedures and guidelines will ensure you operate safely, legally and the best way possible, ensuring an enjoyable day for all.

Don’t hesitate to ask any questions.

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Council say NO to below plants

Please see below Bellingen Council’s list of prohibited plants. Please make sure you don’t sell any of these on the day. Council will be part of our Plant Fair and checking every plant stall to ensure they are doing the right thing.