Christmas shopping frenzy at Sunset Fair!

Handicraft stalls reported bumper sales last Friday (December 10th) as visitors chose to buy local for Xmas presents this year. Laden with bags full of tais, baskets, soaps, coffee, etc., the happy shoppers then took a breather at the restaurant stalls to compare purchases and consume a well-earned drink and a bite to eat. The Caz Bar sold out of Tiger beer and  had to send back to the restaurant for more stock! If you haven't started your Christmas shopping yet, you have one more chance this Friday, which is the Sunset Fair closing night for the 2010 season. We expect a big night, with some great entertainment and a special closing ceremony. Watch this space for more details.

The Basket Ladies of Maubara are rushed off their feet as their stall is packed with customers (above) as the scene is repeated throughout the handicrafts zone of the Sunset Fair

Hafoti has a good range of Timorese-made nibbles - great for parties - banana and cassava chips, fiery Timorese chili sauce and peanuts

Some good ideas for stocking fillers from Hafoti - tamarind sweets and Timorese coffee in an attractive tais pouch

Creative basket work from Maubara

Tiny, cute bootees made from Tais on sale at Women's Woven Art
Even if you don't have a new baby due in the family, they are hard to resist. One customer bought a pair to hang from the rear-view mirror of her car!

Something different from Bali - and Timor Telecom recharge cards - on offer at  Blue Ocean restaurant

A Holy Family statuette, appropriately on sale at Kristu Rei. Just what you need for your nativity scene.
From a selection on sale at the Congregasaun Misionariu Verbo Divino (SVD) stall.

A warm welcome to a Sunset Fair newcomer - the Maubere Restaurant - serving favourites like katupa (coconut rice parcels), satay and noodles

Sunset Fair is gearing up for Christmas with great gift ideas

There's  no better way to do your Christmas shopping in Dili than to stroll around the Sunset Fair. All the best handicrafts are there and you can sit down and take a breather at one of the restaurant stalls in between purchases. You'll find lots of ideas for gifts from just a few dollars as well as hand-made Christmas cards. A one-stop-shop, stress-free approach!.

These are special... hand-made Christmas cards (even the paper is made by hand) from Kor Timor

Hand-made original dolls from Atauro: "Boneka Atauro" - available from Kor Timor
Better than Barbie. Why not start a family?

The good thing about Kor Timor gifts is that you don't have to spend extra time and money on wrapping them.
Lovely, hand-made paper and gift boxes covered in traditional Timorese weavings. Coconut oil (great for massage,  above) and soaps (with natural perfumes, for soft skin, below), and fine Kafe Timor (below that).

It's the season to put on the bling.  Two passers-by volunteered to model sparkly party clothes available at the Associacao Empresarial Das Mulheres de Timor-Leste (above). There's also a big range of glittering jewellery and some rather elegant  tais... which have so many different uses that we sometimes forget that they are meant to be worn! 

Beautiful traditional silver jewellery

Now you can wear Arte Moris ("Living Art") with their new range of t-shirts and bags, out just in time for Christmas. Designs based on original artwork from Timorese artists. Also available is a range of greeting cards (below). 

  

You can even stock up your drinks cabinet for the festive season. New to the Sunset Fair - Silver Label Whisky, Gin and Vodka, bottled in Timor-Leste and on sale at VERY reasonable prices. Cheers!
And when you've finished all your Christmas shopping, put your feet up and enjoy a fresh juice made for you on the spot from delicious local fruit. 

Don't forget - only TWO Sunset Fair shopping days until Christmas - Friday, December 10th and the night of our closing ceremony for 2010 - Friday, December 17th.  Don't miss it!

  

NIGHT LIFE: SUNSET FAIR BRINGS FOOD, CRAFTS AND MUSIC TO KRISTU REI BEACH

Live music, circus entertainers, international cuisine, Timorese handicrafts and a bouncy castle are all lined up for the grand opening of the Sunset Fair on Saturday, September 11th.  Guests at the launch – which is open to the public - will include several hundred Tour de Timor participants, members of the diplomatic community and government officials. 

The inspiration for the Dili Sunset Fair was drawn from a recent visit to the highly successful Mindil Beach Sunset Markets in Darwin by the Minister of Tourism, Commerce and Industry, Mr Gil Alves, who was impressed with the range of local and international products on sale and the large numbers of visitors to the event, which has become one of Darwin’s leading tourism attractions and a major contributor to the economy of the Northern Territory.

“I thought to myself, ‘we could do something like this in Dili’. We have the products, we have the location,   we have the talent and we are keen to expand the range of experiences that Timor-Leste can offer to tourists, as well as the market for our local handicrafts”, Alves said.

The Sunset Fair location at Kristu Rei has recently been renovated by the Timor-Leste Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry. 

“This is a fantastic use of this purpose-built tourism facility,” Quintas said, “There is a performance arena, plenty of parking and space for up to 50 stalls. It is right beside one of our country’s most beautiful white sand beaches, with spectacular views of the sunset and it is surrounded by a nature reserve.  I am sure that the Sunset Fair will be a great addition to our night life in Dili and will be popular with both foreign and local tourists, especially families”.

 The Mindil Beach Sunset Market Association Inc will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the   Directorate of Tourism, to share their expertise with their Timorese counterparts in launching and developing  the Sunset Fair.  MBSMA  General Manager, Kylie McCourt said that the technical support being offered to  the Sunset Fair organisers would extend to advice, training, cross-promotion and regular exchanges of traders and entertainers between the two events. 

“I believe that Mindil Markets’ relationship with the Sunset Fair will be a two-way street,” McCourt said, “One of our aims is to promote the sharing of cultural community and we are looking forward to developing long-term ties with our friends in Dili, so that we can learn more about what Timor-Leste has to offer in terms of products and cultural experiences, to the benefit of both parties. We would love to see some Timorese traders and visitors over here at Mindil”.  

A delegation from the MBSMA is travelling to Timor-Leste to participate in the September 11th inauguration of the Sunset Fair, which is expected to run every Wednesday evening throughout the dry season, from October 6th until December 15th 2010.  The Mindil Market visitors will be selling some of their creative handicrafts at the fair, as well as performing fire-twirling, stilt-walking and face-painting for children.    

Sunset Fair will be offering a wide range of local and international culinary specialities as well as traditional weavings, carvings and other typical local handicrafts and products.  Timorese entertainers will include Boy Clemens, who recently recorded a song about the Sunset Fair beach, entitled “Areia Branca”, which he will be performing at the opening event.  His album, “Forca de Amor” will also be on sale.

The Sunset Fair grand opening will be MC’d by Anito Matos and there will be performances by 5 de Oriente as well as  Le Ziaval and Tramasta Timorese dancing troupes.

The Venture Hotel and Esset will be bringing their Bouncy Castle to the fair. (a large inflatable “building”  designed for children to jump around and use as a trampoline).

The Sunset Fair will allocate a proportion of its stalls to international traders, as it aims to offer a multi-cultural experience to visitors and to extend the creativity of Timorese business in developing new products.  The Mindil Beach Sunset Market Association will assist with the development of the Sunset Fair in creative product development, food hygiene, Association and Market Management and other areas touching on private sector strengthening. 

The Sunset Fair will also offer a regular opportunity to Timorese entertainers to gain experience in performing in public and to promote their music. They will be allowed to sell their CDs at the event.  “We encourage all performers who are seeking an audience to register their interest with us so that we can draw up a schedule of entertainers to last the whole Sunset Fair season,” said Quintas, “This is also a chance for youth and church groups to get valuable exposure and  to raise funds for charity”.  

Corporate sponsors for the event include Airnorth, Valsa Productions, and Boy Clemens.   

Applicants must submit their requests to Mr Antonio Da Silva, tel: 7410185 or go directly to the National Directorate of Tourism, Rua Dom Aleixo Corte-Real, Fomento, Mandarin. Participants must commit to operating their stall every Wednesday evening from 5pm-10pm for the full market season (Oct.6th-Dec. 15th).  The government will provide electricity, water and a basic stall structure to participants, but they must supply any other equipment they need, such as tables and extra lighting, themselves. 

For further information:

Sunset Fair email:

sunset.fair.dili@gmail.com

Sunset Fair Facebook group:  

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=142081139145799 

Sunset Fair on Twitter: @SunsetFair

MTCI website: http://www.mtci-timorleste.com/pt/

Sunset Fair Opening Night, September 11th, 2010

Participants:

  

Food and Beverage (National)   

Café Timor-Leste                                                        

Timor-Top/G’day                                                        

Tramasta   

Venture Hotel    

Marisa Unipessoal       

Le Ziaval

Ass. Empresarial Mulheres T.L.

Hafoti

Girasol Brait  

Food and Beverage (International)
Dili Beach Hotel 
One More Bar
Beach Cafe
Caz Bar
Toy's Thai

Non-food/Handicrafts:

Boy Clemens 

Fundasaun Alola

Handycraft/Souvenir 

Star’s Printing

Grupu Manuco-co  

Kor Timor

Grupu Feto Hametin Unidade 

Tiarlelo

Women’s Woven Art   

Fundasaun Cultural Le Ziaval

Arte Moris  

Mindil Beach Sunset Markets Association

Harmony Massage  

VeeBees Fashion

Haburas Cultura   

Ass. Empresarial Mulheres Timor-Leste

Carnivore Heaven - One More Bar at the Sunset Fair

Meat lovers will flock to Gill's BBQ stall at the Sunset Fair. Here's what's on offer:

- succulent pork ribs
- tasty corned beef
- home-made sausages
- BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches)
- satay prawns

Delicious.

If you like what you taste at the Sunset Fair, visit the One More Bar Restaurant in Lecidere.
Check it out here .

Cafe Timor Leste brings East-West fusion food to the Sunset Fair

 
Cafe Timor Leste is coming to the Sunset Fair! The owners previously operated at the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets and also own Café Timor Leste in Darwin.  The cuisine is a fusion of Eastern and Western flavours as it contains both Oriental ingredients and flavours of Timor Leste and the European flavours of Portugal. The owner, Hernany Lopes, originally from Suai, has many years experience cooking in Australia and is happy to be home.

Some of the traditional dishes you can try at the Sunset Fair include:
Batar Daan (vegetarian dish of mungbeans, eggplant, corn, kangkong & pumpkin shoots);
Caril (capsicum based coconut curry);
Ikan Sabuko (spanish mackerel with tamarind, capsicum and basil); Sutate (pork ribs in tamarind, palm sugar and soy sauce);
Chilli Beef (beef in sambal olek, with kaffir lime leaves & lemongrass);
Feijoada (borlotti beans, chorizo and smoked pork stew).

Kor Timor joins Sunset Fair

Kor Timor is a leading manufacturer of locally hand-made products (including but not limited to boxes, books, packaging, bags) made from recycled, hand-made paper and Timor tais. Located in Taibessi, Dili, next to the Juvenile Centre, Kor Timor employs 17 people and serves institutional customers such as the Office of the President, Government and the diplomatic community, as well as exporting a small quantity of products to Australia. It also supplies local outlets and has its own shop at its workplace. Kor Timor is a not-for-profit business, funded by an Australian donor and managed by an Australian volunteer.
Kor Timor Unipesosal Lda
Rua Merkadu Taibessi
+670 733 4460
Website: via http://www.buildingmarkets.org/

Would you like a stall at the Sunset Fair? Criteria for participants.

The three key values:

Diversity – Creativity – Quality

Objectives of the Sunset Fair

The Sunset Fair aims to create a showcase for all that is best in Timor-Leste’s local products, handicrafts, culture and entertainment.  Not all of the businesses in this country are ready to operate at this level and one of the key objectives of the Sunset Fair is to create a market for the best business (and cultural) performers to set out their wares and to represent Timor- Leste on a regular basis at an event for foreign and domestic tourists.  Space is limited and participants are expected to pay stall or performance fees (although these will be waived for opening night on September 11th) and provide their own equipment.  MTCI provides the space, the event publicity, the tent, the water and electricity supply. The traders do the rest for themselves and if they offer diversity, creativity and quality, they will reap the financial and promotional rewards offered by the Sunset Fair.  A small number of stalls are reserved for international participants: the reason for this is to help national traders develop our three key values by setting an example.  A key piece of advice for Sunset Fair participants is to specialize: select your best products, focus on them and do not attempt to sell the whole range of items available in your main business. In this way, the Sunset Fair will serve as a “shop window” to promote your company’s activity and increase day-to-day trade.

The Sunset Fair is primarily a recreational event for family entertainment: any product or performance that is especially suitable for children will find special favour.

Criteria for participants

Initially, the Sunset Fair will offer 36 stalls (6 pavilions and 30 tented areas, approx. 3.5mt x 3.5mt) to participants.

They will be divided up as follows:

·         26 spaces for National traders (21 tents and 5 pavilions)

·         10 spaces for International traders (9 tents and 1 pavilion).

Entertainers will share the performance arena, in successive performances (larger groups requiring amplification), and some (buskers, acrobats, etc.) will be given non-tented “pitches” within the Sunset Fair compound.   These spaces will be allocated similarly to the stalls, with a majority of Timorese performers and a small quota of internationals.  Criteria for performers will be drawn up separately from those governing traders, according to their specific needs and nature. In the case of international performers, preference will be given to childrens’ entertainers and performances representing indigenous culture from abroad. 

Of the stalls, there will be a further division according to types of activity:

-          National traders: 10 tents for food, 11 tents for handicrafts and other products, with the extra 5 pavilions devoted to either handicrafts or services such as massage or tourism.

-          International traders: 6 tents for food, 3 for international products, 1 pavilion for services, such as massage or face-painting.

Stall selection criteria:

-          Timor-Leste based National and International traders must have a current business registration; this requirement will be waived in the case of “guest” international traders participating on a “one-off” basis or other special circumstances. 

-          All traders must specify at the time of making their application exactly what type of product they intend to offer from their stalls. No two stalls may offer exactly the same merchandise; the aim of the Sunset Fair is to make every stall different.  Focusing on the best two or three products offered by each business is a good way to achieve this; for example one Padang restaurant might serve its Beef Rendang at the Sunset Fair, whereas another might sell its special fried chicken.  

-          In the case of National traders, precedence will be given to those offering items produced from Timorese materials, using Timorese labour and representing Timorese culture. 

-          In the case of International traders, precedence will be given to those offering products not available in Timor-Leste, especially innovative or technological items or hand-crafted merchandise reflecting the creativity and culture of the producer (fashion, art, jewellery, etc.).

-          Any stall – National or International - offering products suitable for children will be favoured in the selection process.  (eg. Boneka Atauro).  

-          Food traders must abide by national laws governing food hygiene and expiry dates for ingredients, etc.

-          Stalls wishing to use electrical and gas appliances on their stalls must submit their equipment to the Sunset Fair committee for a safety inspection.

Inappropriate merchandise

The following merchandise may not be offered for sale at the Sunset Fair:

-          Raw foods, such as kangkong, potatoes etc., unless prepared as washed salads, cut, peeled or presented on plates (ie coconuts, fruits etc.) or pre-packaged (cassava chips, tomato sauce, jam etc.)

-          Live animals

-          Products derived from protected species such as coral or turtle shell or timber cut without license, as well as untreated materials containing pests or fungus that is unlikely to pass quarantine inspection.

-          Items of an obscene or culturally offensive nature

-          Handicrafts representing Timor-Leste cultural values, designs or motifs that have been mass-produced overseas

-          Construction materials, except for small tools and appliances that are innovative (in the case of international traders) or hand-crafted (national traders, eg. Baucau blacksmith).

-          Stalls consisting of displays composed wholly of samples of goods that are not for sale at the Sunset Fair, with the exception of services such as tourism

Selection and registration process

• Stalls are offered on a first come, first served basis but all of the above product criteria must be met. Traders participating in the September 11th inaugural Sunset Fair will be given priority when applying for stalls for the 2010 season. Applicants must submit their applications to Mr Antonio Da Silva, tel: 7410185 or go directly to the National Directorate of Tourism, Rua Dom Aleixo Corte-Real, Fomento, Mandarin. The deadline for application for the October 6-December 15, 2010 Sunset Fair season is: Tuesday, September 14th. Applications received after this date may be put on a waiting list.
• Participants must commit to operating their stall every Wednesday evening from 5pm-10pm for the full market season (Oct. 6th-Dec. 15th, 2010). Any trader that fails to do so will not be considered for participation in future events.
•  Traders must pay the stall fee ($50 per stall to cover the whole period from Oct. 6th-Dec. 15th 2010) in cash once their application has been approved and their Sunset Fair Trader pass has been issued. A copy of a current business registration must be attached to the Sunset Fair application form.  No refund will be given in case of withdrawal and 2-weeks’ notice is required to cease trading.
• Any trader engaging in verbal abuse, physical violence, threatening behavior, interference with other traders’ activities or any form of illegal activity will be expelled from the Sunset Fair.  Such instances of such poor conduct must be reported to the organizing committee.
• All stall allocation and other decisions governing participation in the Sunset Fair will be taken by the organizing committee under direction of MTCI/NDT/NDI and are final.