Myrtleford's Recreation Reserve was teeming on Friday, 2 January, as thousands of locals and holiday makers enjoyed the town's annual bush market.

Market co-ordinator, Melanie Dymond, said they could not have asked for a more beautiful day with a "huge buzz of a crowd".

"We had at least a few thousand attendees, with more people through the door on foot than in previous years," she said.

"The fact the market's followed so closely after the new year has definitely contributed to the traffic: it's still peak holiday mode.

"After speaking to our stallholders, one of them said she'd trippled her earnings from last year's sales."

The sea of stalls lining the avenue across the reserve boasted wares of every kind: garden ornaments and plants, gins, honey, a wide variety of handicrafts, Tupperware, second-hand goods and candles, while aromatic food and drink vans kept the masses sated with scrumptious treats.

"There's a group of us stallholders who've come over from Shepparton," Linny's Homewares and Brian's Spinners stallholder, Brian Gale said.

"We like to support the area: we've attended the Mount Beauty Market yesterday and we're off Bright market tomorrow.

"The football wind-spinners are pretty popular, but our sales are all based on taste, so we've got a big range; butterflies, dragons, holograms, et cetera."

At the first market she's visited in Myrtleford, Diane Gunton from Wangaratta said "I'll be back again next year".

Cath Smith from Myrtleford said there was a good variety of stalls, with good foods and produce on offer.

"It's good to see a great big market here in town," she said.

Also at the bustling market was Tom Cullen from Melbourne, who said he and his wife visit every year and stay with friends in Buffalo River.

"It's a really lovely town; a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle," he said.

"I was able to get myself a new Akubra here at the market after I lost my old one."

There was something for the whole family; even their four-legged family members, as they dropped in to the UnFURgettable Dog Treats and Biscuits stall and snacked on free samples.

“I’m here once a year and I will definitely be back in 2027," Bonita Tilly from UnFURgettable said.

"I love coming to the Myrtleford Bush Market, the customers are relaxed and chatty, lots of dogs visit and the organisers do a fantastic job.

“There are four different flavours of my homemade dog biscuits: Cheese & Parsley, Lamb & Rosemary, Peanut Butter and Bacon & Honey.

"The Mixed Chewy Packs includes one of each of the beef tendons, pig’s trotters and ears, kangaroo tails and rolls and rabbit ears.

"Chicken feet are a good way to keeps puppies busy, while their humans get a coffee at the market.

"I hope people enjoyed their day in a beautiful setting, found a treasure they can't buy at a shop and treated their pups to something healthy and fun to eat, because dogs have taste buds too."