Festival of Busselton Petticoat Lane attracts more than 100 vendors & big crowds

One of the most popular events in the 60-year-old Festival of Busselton is the street market event Petticoat Lane.

The centre of Busselton becomes a huge twilight market as hundreds of stalls are set up for late night shopping.

Petticoat Lane brings together hundreds of local artisans and retailers with food, arts and crafts, collectables, handmade goods, toys, homewares, skincare, unique fashions and entertainment.

There were more than 100 vendors at this year’s event on January 17, drawing visitors from nearby towns and communities.

The Busselton Apex donut stall is always a popular attraction and there were long lines for the fundraising sugary treats even before the event opened.

Festival committee president Amy Boliver said she was excited about the scale of the 2024 Petticoat Lane market.

“This year will see many new stalls join us as well as lots of old favourites; we are taking up more space than ever, ” she said.

The market was packed with an eclectic mix of stalls and enthusiastic buyers from the foreshore to Prince Street.

In the cultural precinct, the Friends of Busselton group was having great fun selling soft drinks at its stall.

“We have produced a couple of great new mocktails here: we have Friends Fizz and the Saltwater Sling, it’s going really well,” Lisa Massey of the Busselton Friends said.

Chloe Laffar, who runs Sewing Bubble, a Busselton business that produces handmade sustainable fabric items, had a stall at the markets for the first time.

“It’s so much fun; the atmosphere is fantastic and it’s so nice to see so many people here,” she said.

The origins of Petticoat Lane stem from the street market of the same name that began in London 400 years ago.

Former Busselton MLA Bernie Masters, who has worked on the Festival of Busselton committee for nine years, including five as president, said the local event began in 1977 and it had been held every year since.

“The general format of Petticoat lane has always been the same,” he said.

“Often small changes were made and if they worked well, they were retained thereafter.”

Upcoming festival events include Art in the Park at Mitchell Park on Friday, January 19, and Saturday, January 20, and the Festival Concert at Fireworks also on January 20 from 5pm to 9pm on the Busselton Foreshore.

For more information, visit the Festival of Busselton website at festivalofbusselton.com.au/ .