Since the late 1980s, the Irene Village Market some 40 kilometres north of Joburg has earned wide acclaim both as a superb outdoor shopping venue and as a refreshing escape from the bustle of city life. Such is its acclaim, in fact, that it has been named ‘Best Market in Africa’ by Getaway magazine on numerous occasions.
Mission
The market, situated on the serene and leafy grounds of the Smuts House Museum, is a gathering of artists and patrons; crafters and collectors; home industries and connoisseurs from far and wide.
Indeed, its stated mission is ‘to provide a marketplace for the artist and home entrepreneur, a forum promoting art and craft, as well as quality family recreation while contributing to the cultural-historic and natural heritage of the village of Irene’.
This mission is taken extremely seriously, which explains why the market only convenes on the second and last Saturday of each month. Artists, it is felt, should not be pressured to mass-produce as this would unavoidably detract from quality.
Family Pursuit
A visit to the Irene market has every making of an excellent family outing. With ample guarded parking, a fully-licensed tea garden, numerous food stalls, kids’ entertainment and the renowned Smuts House Museum right there on the premises, even the most discerning taste is sure to be pleased.
Nature-lovers enjoy the three-kilometre Smuts’ Trail meandering through the surrounding grassland, home to over 300 bird species and a wide array of indigenous flora.
Back at the Market in its characteristic setting of old-world charm, tea and scones would be just the thing to recharge the serious shopper with over 300 stalls to visit. Indeed, many visitors choose to bring their picnic baskets, stock them with treats from the delicatessen stalls and tuck in to an impromptu picnic in the shade of pine, poplar and oak.
Kids’ Entertainment
True to its nature as a family venue, the Market offers excellent kids’ entertainment – pony and camel rides are an all-time favourite just like candle-making, jump-castles and many of the other activities meant to keep the kids safely occupied while Mom and Dad are off to a truly unique shopping experience.
 |
The Stalls
The stalls are divided into the categories Arts and Craft; Delicatessen; Antiques and Collectibles, and Refreshments.
To ensure that all goods are of the highest possible quality, products and exhibitors undergo a strict selection process twice a year. In line with the emphasis on original craft and art, only original, hand-made goods are allowed at the market. By maintaining this criterion, the organisers ensure that no ‘assembly-line wares’ find their way into any of the exhibits at the market.
It comes as no surprise, then, that wholesalers regularly visit the market to procure stock by the truck-load for resale in gift shops, curio outlets, chemists and art galleries – certain testimony to the quality maintained at this tranquil and shady outdoor shopping mall.
The Future
Currently on the drawing board for the Irene Village Market are an extension to the Antique and Collectibles market, as well as the introduction of workshops and special expos focusing on the likes of pottery, sculpting and painting, to name a few.
Smuts House Museum
In keeping with its mission to promote the cultural-historic heritage of Irene village, the market was founded in 1989 in conjunction with the Smuts House Museum as a supplementary revenue source for the latter.
 |
Built in 1908, Doornkloof, as Smuts House was known in those days, was home to former South African Prime Minister General Jan Christiaan Smuts for some 40 years.
Soldier, scholar, philosopher and statesman extraordinaire, General Smuts found here a place where he could indulge his passion for botany, a fact attested to by the magnificence of the Doornkloof garden with its thousands of indigenous shrubs and trees planted by the great man himself.
A footpath leads from the garden to Smuts Kopje, a rocky hill behind the house where lie scattered Smuts’ ashes. A masonry obelisk marks the spot.
Nature Trail
Smuts’ Trail is a three-kilometre walk through the pristine grasslands surrounding the Smuts House Museum and the Irene Village Market. On market days, nature-lovers arrive early to complete the trail before opening time at 09h00.
The undulating grasslands surrounding the market are a birdwatcher’s dream; ornithologists have identified no fewer than 300 bird species within a seven-kilometre radius of the nearby Irene railway station. Special bird-watching outings led by professionals are available to visitors.
The species identified in the area include three varieties of starling and four varieties of owl. The banks of the Hennops River are home to Paradise Fly Catchers; Comorants; Darters; four varieties of Kingfisher, as well as Warblers, Hamerkops, Bishop Birds and the Sakabula Widow-bird.
Four varieties of migratory cuckoos frequent the grassland and birds of prey in the area include Wahlberg’s Eagle; the Black Sparrowhawk; the Lanner Falcon, Buzzards, the Banded Harrier Hawk; the Little-banded Goshawk, and the Black-shouldered Kite.
Garden birds abound: Waxbill, Mousebird, Sparrow, Crested and Black-collared Barbet, Cape Robin, Bokmakierie …
Grassland
The Smuts Kopje Grassland is home to the Smuts Finger Grass (Digitaria eriantha).
Interestingly, it is estimated that some 60 per cent of the flora found here are in fact not grasses but often ancient perennials sprouting from underground tubers and bulbs, (Aselepiadaccae, Crassulaecae, Amaryllidaceae, Orchiddaceae). Species such as Elephant’s Root (Elephantorrhiza elephantine) do not sprout from roots at all but from underground stems. Similarly, the ‘stem’ of the well-known Bobbejaanstert (Velloziaccae) is not a stem at all, but an above-ground root system surrounded by an insulating layer of persistent residual leaf bases.
The Poison Bulbs (Amaryllidacene) found along the trail can be anywhere between 200 and 500 years old.
Interesting shrubs include the Daisy-tea Bush (Athrixia elata), which makes a pleasant aromatic infusion. Bitterbessie (Vernonia oligorephalais) is used to combat diabetes while Gifbol (Hypoxis hemerocallidea) is known for its powerful healing qualities.
© 2006. Irene Market. All rights reserved.
|
[Home] [About Us] [Products] [What's On] [Calendar] [Location Map] [Contact Us] [Search] [Application] |