The late announcement of Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa’s arrival via a military Oryx helicopter in North Park, Welkom, almost entirely derailed the October flea market.
On Friday afternoon (07/10), the Welkom Publicity Association (WPA) received news that the president planned to arrive on Saturday, and he was to land in the middle of where the flea market stalls would have been.
With less than 24 hours’ notice, the WPA was forced to move from their regular venue or cancel the monthly market outright.
“In the spirit of community service, the WPA Board immediately decided to find an alternative venue,” says Brian Emmenis, chairman of the WPA board.
Emmenis immediately mobilised his team, who set about finding a new venue. From there an emergency plan was activated with military precision. Once the alternative venue, the Welkom Technical High School (THS) sports fields, had been secured, a media campaign was launched.
“Utilising social media as a mighty instrument and the very popular GoldFM radio station, messages were shared and relayed both on radio and various digital platforms. Fortunately, the WPA was also able to make use of Trix Potgieter’s social media platform, which hosts hundreds of exhibitors,” says Emmenis.
As soon as the news of the sudden move reached the public domain, most exhibitors were quite comfortable with the decisions the Board had made. Cancelling the flea market would have had a severe financial impact on the monthly exhibitors who rely on the market to generate an income.
“We decided to host a smaller market and provide space for those still willing to attend the opportunity to sell their products,” says Emmenis.
He says a few exhibitors were hostile and unrealistically blamed the WPA for the state visit and allowing the presidential helicopter to land in North Park.
“This was not the case. My fellow board member, Liesel Evans, and I had our hands full trying to calm the few irate exhibitors down.”
Meanwhile, Giovan Theunissen, flea market manager, had to ensure that the new terrain was ready to accept a sudden influx of a large number of people, both exhibitors and the public alike.
Theunissen discovered that there was no electricity available for the exhibitors and that all the toilets were locked. The WPA immediately brought in mobile toilets, spotless and serviced after each use for the duration of the flea market.
“The market went off without a hitch and attracted a reasonable crowd. Those who were present reported good sales despite the challenging circumstances,” says Theunissen.
A proud Emmenis says his team stood together and got things done.
“They did everything in their power to ensure that the event went well.”
On a lighter note, the Oryx helicopter with the President on board came very close to the THS sports grounds on its way to North Park. It circled the fields once where the market was taking place.
“The Oryx came in so low, we were convinced that it was about to land among the exhibitors. For a brief moment we were sure that the president would be dropping in to support the flea market, which was moved at the last minute to accommodate his arrival. However, the Oryx flew on towards the centre of Welkom, where it landed at North Park,” says Theunissen.
Ramaphosa was in Welkom as part of the ANC’s Letsema (Together Building Better Communities) campaign.
