The South Auckland community is buzzing with excitement for the reopening of the Ōtara Market on Saturday after two years of "suffering" for stallholders.
This comes after the Government dropped outdoor gathering restrictions and vaccine passes.
The market has been a popular gathering place for friends and whānau to connect, buy fresh produce at a fair price, and celebrate the diversity of the local community since the late 70s.
Ōtāhuhu-Panmure MP Jenny Salesa, whose electorate includes Ōtara, welcomed the return.
"It is much-needed in South Auckland as we recover from the effects of Covid-19."
It's been a rough two years for market vendors whose primary source of income became unstable through lockdowns and gathering restrictions.
Market manager Helen Wiremu worked with them to make sure they were aware of entitlements and relief to help them through the financial strain of the pandemic.
"Our stallholders have suffered," says Wiremu, who's looking forward to a fresh start with "a lot of interest from new stallholders" in the coming weeks.
MP for Māngere Aupito William Sio helped set up the market as a student at Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate, alongside teachers and tangata whenua.
The Otara Market. File photo / Brett Phibbs
"If you ever want to find a Pacific person, you go to the markets and surely you'll bump into them," Sio said of the connection between the community and the marketplace.
He praised the resilience of Aucklanders during the pandemic: "We've all been working really hard. We've been fighting this war against this unseen enemy and I think everybody's tired. Everybody wants to get back to some sort of normality."
Before the pandemic, the market occupied half of the Newbury St carpark every Saturday.
Selah Hart, CEO of Māori health provider Hapai te Hauora, has warned the public to stay safe when socialising in busy spaces like markets. "We are still in a part of the outbreak where case numbers are still incredibly high, and as we are now seeing, more whānau are dying of, or with, Covid. It is not time to relax our hygiene practices."
Healthcare providers and market management are urging market-goers to wear masks, sanitise and stay home if they felt unwell.
For local businesses and community groups, the market's return has been a long time coming as it draws crowds from across the country.
Asked what he was looking forward to about the reopening, Henry Paoo, who works at Ōtara Library, said: "The vibrancy and energy of bands, loud music and people … the bargains of food, veggies, clothes."
Ōtara Bike Burb mechanic Lorenzo Wilson shared the sentiment. "It's part of us. Taking it away was like taking away part of our identity. I want my kids to experience it. Now it's coming back, it's like bringing light back, light into the darkness."
