21/08/2026
A little pause. A lot to look forward to.
Kia Ora Whanganui, we have a little bit of news to share.
After many Friday nights, countless cups of coffee, plates of kai, conversations, music, laughter, new friendships and memories, we’ve made the decision to pause The Block 49 for the remainder of winter.
Unfortunately, this means tonight’s market will not be going ahead.
This isn’t an easy post to write.
I want to take a moment to look back at where this all started.
When I first had the idea for The Block 49, there was a lot of uncertainty. I genuinely didn’t know whether people would turn up.
Before the first market, I was out around Whanganui putting up posters wherever I could, walking into many local businesses, introducing myself, talking about what I was trying to create and asking people to give it a chance.
Behind the scenes, there was a fair amount of work that nobody really saw - securing the property, working through the council requirements and permits, getting everything ready to operate, and trying to turn an empty space into something people would actually want to come to.
Then we opened the gates.
11 vendors.
That was where it started.
Over the weeks that followed, the vendor numbers continued to grow, eventually reaching 21 vendors on one night - our biggest night on the Block.
And then the crowds started growing with it.
Some nights became so busy the market felt completely packed. Vendors were selling out. People were coming back week after week. Businesses were meeting new customers. Friends were meeting friends.
We were fortunate enough to have the story of The Block 49 covered in two newspaper stories in the River City Press Whanganui and nzherald.co.nz, and we also had the privilege of hosting the Filipino Rcfc Whanganui Community Independence Day celebration.
There have been plenty of challenges along the way too - weather, last-minute changes, long days, late nights and all the uncertainty that comes with building something from the ground up.
But there have also been so many moments that made it worthwhile.
Because somewhere along the way, The Block 49 became much more than a market.
It became a place to meet.
A place to support local.
A place to discover something new.
A place to spend a Friday evening with your people.
And most importantly, it became a community.
To every vendor who has stood beside us, every performer who has shared their talent, every creative who has brought their work, every person who has visited, every whānau who has come along, and everyone who has shared a post or told someone about us - ngā mihi nui.
You are our market whānau, and I’m genuinely grateful for every person who has been part of this journey.
And to those vendors who have been there from day one - thank you for taking a chance on something that didn’t have a proven track record yet. You backed the idea before you knew what it would become, and your belief helped give The Block 49 its foundation. I won’t forget that.
For now, we’re going to take a step back, reset and put the work in behind the scenes for what comes next.
We’ll be back in spring/summer.
When we return, it will be the beginning of a new chapter.
We’re not ready to share everything just yet - but there is a lot to look forward to.
Thank you, Whanganui, for backing The Block 49.
For now, we take a breath.
We’ll see you in spring/summer.
Mā te wā
- Montel 🫡
