Happy 20th birthday Hawke's Bay Farmers' Market

The Labour Weekend celebration of 20 years of the Hawke's Bay Farmers' Market is estimated to have attracted up to 6000 people on Sunday.

Held at the Hawke's Bay Showgrounds Tomoana Waikoko Gardens, the traditional 8.30am to 12.30pm market featured a cake-cutting ceremony and the launch of a book on the history of the market, written by author and organic butchery stall operator Sophie Siers.

Market anniversary cake-cutting time for the market's patron, Sir Graeme Avery, and wife Gaby. Photo / Paul Taylor

Next Sunday, the unveiling of a sculpture, marking the milestone, is planned.

"It's been a beautiful Hawke's Bay Day, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were 5000 to 6000 people. It was the usual big holiday weekend market, with a lot of visitors, from Auckland and other places," Siers said.

Stallholders ready for the day, all about food and fine produce, and a bit of Sunday morning R&R. Photo / Paul Taylor

The market featured its regular stalls, numbering about 80 with products from throughout Hawke's Bay. A feature for Siers was the sales of her book, the eighth she has produced over the past four years, and the growth of the event over the two decades.

She said it "probably surprised" many how "good and big" the market had become, from its small-group beginnings to its appeal to visitors from throughout New Zealand and overseas.

Sophie Siers with the Hawke's Bay Farmers' Market 20th anniversary book, which was launched on Sunday. Photo / Paul Taylor