Forres Family Market at Gordon Street car park will be even better next year

A new open market staged for the first time in a disused car park is set to expand next year.

The first Forres Family Market in the former Tesco car park on Gordon Street was deemed such a success that organiser Kay Thomson plans to nearly double the site size for the next one on April 27.

She said: “We would like to make this the best market in Scotland. It’s about the quality of the participating producers, the family vibe, fun and the odd surprise for people to follow and enjoy.

“Roll on 2025 as this market is coming quarterly with a whole lot of followers already!”

Kay planned the market via her events business Your Vibe, with sponsorship from AES Solar and The Moray Honey Company.

She confirmed that around 4000 people attended the event on Sunday, December 1 that featured 70 stalls, music and an on-site bar.

She said: “We tried to gather as many local, award-winning producers as possible - there were five Great Taste award winners amongst them!

“There was a DJ set from Startlite discos and live music from Turriff Silver Band.

“To give you an example of just how busy it was, Pies ‘n’ Pieces sold out of 1000 pies!

“Many of the stalls were completely sold out and emailed me to say that they had broken their market records … Just brilliant!”

High end crafts and street food sellers featured on the site which had its own food court. Local businesses included Thorabella Buffalo Farm and Café Medine.

Despite the huge attendance, Kay said the market “went like clockwork”.

She finished: “The crowds came out in force!

“Normally a market event running from 10am to 4pm would die down at around 2pm, but I had to fade out the music at 4pm to hint that we were finished and the bar was closing!”