Nelson Market 2008

New Zealand

A few people have got together a stall at Nelson market, It is regular so there is a continuity and recognition factor. Here are a couple of reports

Another wonderful day at the market, we got there a bit late and set up our stall on the edge.

The first person to come to the stall asked if this had something to do with the keys as he had some information sent to him a while ago but his life had got very complicated and he had not been able to watch the keys. He took away an ADI magazine, as he does not have a DVD player, and wanted something to read. I let him know that if he felt he wanted to start the Keys we were here every week. He was so pleased and watched a podcast for a while.

A lady gave us a 'peace plant' to put on the stall and was pleased to take a DVD and an info card. So many people came up to the stall and we gave away DVD's, leaflets and cards. Quite a few people said they would show the DVD's to their friends and were so pleased we had the stall.

A peace activist took a DVD, she had never heard of Maharaji and was really interested to hear his message. A stallholder came up and said he was a peace activist and was doing a lot for peace and was interested in having a DVD.

People enjoyed reading the quotes that we have hanging up and 2 women expressed how much they like them and started pointing out all the ones they liked and that they would like some to hang in their house. They took away DVD's, leaflets and cards.

An older Maori gentleman looked at the Wellington event DVD and then came back with his young grandson and showed him the DVD, the grandson read the info on the DVD and asked how much it was, he was pleased to know it was complementary and took it away with a card.

There were quite a few younger people today who were enthusiastic about having a DVD and a leaflet and looked through everything with interest. One man came and asked if he could take some photos of the "What does Peace mean to you" interactive board, as his daughter had been going on about it so much that he wanted to take a photo of it.

The morning flowed and was so much fun, such a sweet experience. It feels so necessary to have the continuity of the stall every week so that people can have a follow up if they want to. Its exciting to see how it unfolds and how we can improve and simplify the stall and have good quality materials to give out.
We are going to start showing the 1 min extract they show in Brisbane on the ipod and have it running continuously, as the podcasts are quite long. We also hope to have some of the leaflets printed, we had a 'sample' one on the stall today and the first person to look at it asked if they could have it as it had really good information on.

Two weeks later

Had a wonderful day at the market on Sunday, gave away DVD's and lots of cards, we had our first request for the Keys using the market as a distribution center.
Had a wonderful offer of an opportunity to be able to show a DVD presentation on Maharaji's message at a venue on the 12th Sept. 2008, no cost. He is interested in having a 'peace day' (12 Sept) in Nelson. He has a conference center and theatre in the center of town. He took away the Wellington event and DFJ and was very excited that our stall was at the market.

A Maori woman pronounced 'Kia Tau Te Rangimarie' on the Wellington DVD for us and said her father always used to say it. It means if you are down or need encouragement find peace. She was so pleased to get the DVD.
Another lovely Maori woman took my hand and thanked me when she got her Wellington DVD, she was so pleased to know that an event like that had happened in NZ.

Another woman said she had heard him before and really liked what he had to say. so glad she could hear more.

So many lovely interactions, and the board Michael made using the design idea from the Brisbane markets worked really well. Just need to replenish our dvd supply before next Sunday as we only have a few left.

We are going to have a seperate stall once a month at the market selling cakes, cards, clothes, etc. to help fund the cost of the DVD's and materials. Brande, is very keen to help with this and so is my mum Katherine.

If you want to have lots of fun try having a stall at the market.