COMMUNITY NOTICE
HELP PROTECT THE FUTURE OF THE DENMARK RIVER ARTS MARKETS💛
Dear friends,
The future of the Denmark River Arts Markets is again in doubt. We haven’t yet been able to secure the funding needed to make the Markets sustainable, and the three-year arrangement we had hoped to establish with the Shire of Denmark has not come together.
At this stage, we are yet to confirm that the December Market will go ahead, but we are looking at every possible way to make it happen. We hope to proceed with the Easter Market, and we are continuing to explore other opportunities to keep the Markets alive.
We’re asking you—the community who loves these Markets—to speak up for their future.
Act now!
If the Denmark River Arts Markets matter to you, please take a few minutes to tell the Shire.
Email info@denmark.wa.gov.au (cc: markets@denmarkriverartsmarkets.com.au) and ask for an additional $10,000 towards the Denmark River Arts Markets, bringing total support for the December and Easter Markets to $15,000.
See more details on this below, including a a pre-written email you may use and edit as you see fit.
A little background
The iconic Denmark Arts Markets were part of Denmark’s history and identity for more than 40 years and were held four times a year. Over the years, they became part of Denmark’s identity and were well known far beyond our borders. For Denmark, the Markets mean local creatives, makers, growers and cooks earning a living from their work, musicians of all ages gaining exposure to a large audience, and visitors spending in our shops and cafés—all while bringing us together in a way that makes this town feel like home.
During that time, the Shire supported the Markets through its funding allocation to Denmark Arts, where they were one of the organisation’s core projects, until Denmark Arts decided to drop the Markets from its annual program.
After three years without the Markets, their loss was deeply felt, and there were many calls and some attempts from the community for their return. We decided to revive the Markets, and the Denmark Community Resource Centre agreed to become the new umbrella organisation. This also meant finding a new way to fund them.
Easter 2025 was the first Market back. Alongside $4,000 from the Shire, we raised $13,000 from private donors who gave this money as revival funding. Many expressed the hope that the Shire would help support the Markets into the future.
That generosity brought the Markets back. But relying on fresh donations and sponsorship for every event was never going to give them a secure, sustainable future. It is extremely time-consuming, and the funding outcome is uncertain from Market to Market with no upfront funds to budget and plan with.
"It feels like there is something right in the world -
we have our markets back!"
visitor, Easter 2025
Working towards an ongoing arrangement
For almost two years, we have been in conversations with the Shire about how to secure the Markets’ future. According to avaibale budget we reduced the Markets to two events per year: December, the “local” end-of-year celebration, and the famous Easter Market.
In late 2025, we agreed to deliver a combined event that brought together the December Markets and the Shire’s end-of-year celebrations, including Carols by Candlelight. It was important to us that it would also honour the season of December in an inclusive way, including solstice and the Noongar season of Birak, reflecting the diversity of our community. We believe this is the way of the future.
The Shire contributed $25,000 towards the combined event out of the allocated Christmas event budget. This also made it possible to forgo gate donations and offer free entry. A further $10,000 supported the Easter Market, bringing the total Shire contribution for the 2025–26 season to $35,000 for all three events combined.
We appreciate the opportunity to have worked with the Shire of Denmark. We believe we delivered an event in December 2025 that retained the feel and legacy of the Markets whilst honouring a whole-community end-of-year / Christmas celebration.
We felt the event and the community-led model were highly successful—something the Shire also acknowledged. Our aim was to establish a three-year agreement that would give security to both the Markets and the Shire’s end-of-year celebrations.
Christmas / Soltice / Birak Mandala
Denmark Celebrates December Markets 2025
credit Brendon Manuel
Why we could not continue on the terms offered
The Shire was willing to continue the collaboration if we delivered its Christmas event on its behalf, with market stalls included.
Our understanding was that this would be a Shire Christmas event, with that focus and identity and naming, rather than the Denmark River Arts Markets as an event in its own right, with its own identity and name and the longstanding history it is known for.
We felt our responsibility to the community was to re-establish and care for the Denmark River Arts Markets—to protect their name, their integrity and their 40-year legacy as an inclusive celebration of arts, creativity and community. That was the clear intention we brought to every conversation about funding.
We could not agree to an arrangement that would mean giving up that identity. The Shire therefore decided to deliver its Christmas event separately.
We support a wonderful community Christmas celebration and respect the Shire’s decision to run its own event. We are sad not to be doing it collaboratively within the Markets framework as we did in 2025. We had hoped, however, that there would still be a way to support both, especially given the strong and repeated community support for the Markets, which we shared with the Shire through survey results and feedback from community engagement.
Where the funding stands
It is important to be clear about last season’s arrangement. The $35,000 supported the Shire’s Christmas celebrations and the December and Easter Markets together. It was not a standalone allocation solely for the Markets.
The funding used for the combined December event came substantially from the Shire’s Christmas event budget. Last season, we found a way for that funding to support both the Markets and the Christmas celebrations, while the current arrangement leaves the December Market without support and the Easter Market below requirements.
For 2026–27, the Shire has allocated:
-
$30,000 towards its separate Christmas event.
-
$5,000 towards the Easter Market, down from $10,000 last season.
-
No funding towards the December Market
We proposed an overall Shire contribution of $15,000 for the two Markets, including coordination costs. This would mean retaining the $5,000 already allocated and redirecting $10,000 from the Christmas event budget, leaving $20,000 for the Shire’s celebration.
From our extensive experience in running events, we believe that $20,000 is a substantial budget for the Shire to deliver a wonderful Christmas event, especially as our understanding is that wages for the event are met from the existing Shire wages allocation, unlike in 2025–26, when coordination wages were included within the $25,000 allocated for the December Markets/end-of-year celebrations.
Together with stall fees and a proposed $5 adult entry fee, we believe this would provide a practical and sustainable way for both Markets to continue.
The Shire rejected that proposal.
We are asking for it to be reconsidered. The Markets have a history of Shire support, first through Denmark Arts and then through the arrangements that helped revive them. We are seeking an ongoing way to continue that support.
What we are trying to protect
The underlying question is whether the Shire should be contributing financially to the Markets, and if so, how much.
This is rate-payers' money after all.
Historically, it has done this through its funding to Denmark Arts. That funding allocation increased this year, so we do not see the Shire as ‘anti-arts’. Our argument for the Shire contributing to the Markets is that, perhaps more than any other event in Denmark, the Markets are synonymous with the ‘character’ of the town and are what the town is known for by locals and visitors far and wide.
Many regional communities work for years to establish an iconic event that puts their town on the map. Denmark already has one—and we are at risk of losing it.
For more than 40 years, the Markets have been part of the fabric of this town. They are known by locals and visitors far and wide and are closely tied to Denmark’s character as a place of creativity, music, good food, fresh produce and community.
They have helped launch creative businesses, given artists and makers a place to trial and sell their work, provided a stage for musicians and performers—from our youngsters to The Waifs—brought visitors into town and supported local businesses.
For many people, the Markets are part of what makes Denmark feel like home.
This is a legacy built by generations of stallholders, musicians, organisers, volunteers and the community who have supported them. It is what we set out to bring back, and it is what we are trying to protect now.
We feel the Shire’s current funding decision does not give the Markets the value that the community places on them. Since their return, people have told us again and again how much they missed them and how important it is to keep them.
We believe a 40-year legacy, with so much creative, economic and social value for Denmark, deserves ongoing support.
Markets a long time ago
credit unknown
What happens next
We are still working to make a December Market happen and exploring other funding opportunities.
We have also been advised that the Shire’s Christmas event will now take place on Saturday 12 December—the second Saturday of the month and the traditional December Market date, which we had indicated we planned to use again. This is also unexpected given that the Shire’s Christmas event has never fallen on a Saturday in the past.
Although the events would take place at different times of day, this adds another challenge to planning December, with stallholders needing to choose one event or the other. We are considering our options and have not yet confirmed a Market date.
We know this uncertainty is difficult for stallholders, musicians and everyone who needs to plan ahead. We will share clearer information as soon as we can.
We haven’t given up, and we hope you’ll stand with us.
Excert Denmark Bulletin 06 March 2025 #1128
Call to action!
If the Denmark River Arts Markets matter to you, please take a few minutes to tell the Shire.
Email info@denmark.wa.gov.au
(cc: markets@denmarkriverartsmarkets.com.au)
and ask for an additional $10,000 towards the Denmark River Arts Markets, bringing total support for the December and Easter Markets to $15,000.
A personal email is especially valuable. Tell them what the Markets mean to you, your business or your family, and why you want them to continue.
You can also sign a campaign postcard at the Denmark Community Resource Centre or participating outlets around town. Completed postcards can be delivered to the Shire, returned to the CRC or left at the participating outlet.
Please ask your friends, neighbours, customers and fellow makers to take part.
If you would like a starting point for your email, you can copy and personalise the following:
Dear Shire President and Councillors,
I am writing to ask the Shire to allocate a further $10,000 towards the Denmark River Arts Markets, bringing total support for the December and Easter Markets to $15,000.
These iconic Markets have more than 40 years of history and are an important part of Denmark’s identity. They support local artists, makers, musicians, growers, cooks and businesses, attract visitors and bring our community together.
Many regional towns work hard to build an event that their community is known for. Denmark already has this in the River Arts Markets, and I believe it is worth protecting.
[Add a few words about what the Markets mean to you.]
Please reconsider the proposal to redirect $10,000 from the Christmas event budget to support the Markets. I believe Denmark can have both a wonderful Christmas celebration and thriving December and Easter Markets.
Please work with the organisers to secure their future.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
Thank you for everything you bring to the Markets and for helping us protect their future.
Your Denmark River Arts Markets coordination team
GET IN TOUCH
Do you have any questions or want to get involved with Denmark River Arts Markets?
We'd love to hear from you.
Denmark River Arts Markets coordinator:
Kira Schimmelpfennig
(temporary contact:)
P 0477 555 141
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