- 1st Thursday monthly
- 9am–1.30pm
- Over 24 traders
- No January market
- Earlies Festival, June
Comber Farmers' Market runs on the first Thursday of the month, 9am to 1.30pm, in St Mary's Parish Church car park on the Square. There is no market in January.
Selling in Comber
- Farmers' marketMarket committee, 07872 857912
- Earlies festivalArds and North Down tourism trading form, back by mid-March
- Festival costChalet £110 or food truck £160, plus VAT (2026)
- Cover£10m public and £10m employers' liability for the festival
- Castle Espie fairsJoin the North Down Craft Collective
Coming up
In Comber
- Thu5NovComber Farmers' MarketSt Mary's Parish Church car park, Comber SquareConfirmedFood & farmers
- Sat21NovMoneyreagh Christmas Craft FairMoneyreagh Community CentreConfirmedChristmas
- Thu26NovComber Christmas Fair in the SquareThe Square, Comber town centreLikelyChristmas
- Sun29NovChristmas Craft Market at WWT Castle Espie Visitor CentreWWT Castle Espie Visitor CentreConfirmedChristmas
- Sat5DecChristmas Fair at Comber Non-Subscribing Presbyterian ChurchComber Non-Subscribing Presbyterian ChurchConfirmedChristmas
- Sun6DecPre-Loved Pop Up at Castle EspieWWT Castle Espie Wetland CentreConfirmedMakers & craft
And 2 more in the app.
Every week and every month
- Comber Farmers' Marketon the 1st Thursday of every month, 9am to 1.30pm · next Thu 5 Nov
- Ards Artisans Friday MarketEvery Friday 10:00-16:00 · next Fri 6 Nov
- Newtownards Weekly Marketevery Saturday, 8am to 3pm · next Sat 7 Nov
- Inns Cross Farmers Marketon the 1st Saturday of every month, 10am to 2pm · next Sat 7 Nov
Within about 15 miles
- Fri6NovSt George's Market — Friday Variety MarketSt George's Market · about 8 milesConfirmedEvery week
- Sat7NovInns Cross MarketRear car park of Inns Cross shops, 75 Saintfield Road, Newtownbreda · about 6 milesConfirmedFood & farmers
- Sat7NovCraft Fair at Brookhall Historical FarmBrookhall Historical Farm, 2 Horse Park, Ballinderry Road · about 12 milesConfirmedMakers & craft
- Sat7NovCarrickfergus Monthly Artisan MarketMarket Place · about 12 milesConfirmedMakers & craft
First Thursday in St Mary's car park
The farmers' market sets up in St Mary's Parish Church car park on Comber Square (BT23 5DU), 9am to 1.30pm, on the first Thursday of each month from February to December. Comber Regeneration Community Partnership started it in 2014, and volunteers run it.
In the church hall, the catering committee serves tea, coffee and home-made scones.
What's on the Comber stalls
Over 24 regular traders bring food and plants, much of it from County Down.
- Bread, cakes, traybakes, tarts and quiches
- Cheese, eggs, olives, jams and chutneys
- Fish, dry-cured bacon, sausages, gammon and kid-goat meat
- Vegetables, fruit, flowers and bedding plants
- Chocolate, sauces and oils
- Comber Earlies potatoes in early summer
The Comber Earlies Food Festival in June
Ards and North Down Borough Council holds the festival on a Saturday in late June in the Comber Leisure Centre car park, off Castle Street. It runs 10am to 5pm, with a quiet first hour for people who find crowds hard.
Food and drink producers sell from council wooden chalets and food trucks, with street food, cookery demonstrations and music. It is the main day of Taste Summer, and there is no charge to get in.
The leisure centre car park is closed to cars that day. Use the council car park at Bridge Street Link, or the festival shuttle buses the council has run from Bangor, Newtownards and Dundonald Park and Ride.
Craft fairs at Castle Espie and Christmas in the Square
The North Down Craft Collective holds its fairs at WWT Castle Espie, 78 Ballydrain Road, about three miles south of the town. Its Christmas Craft Market, on the last Sunday of November, 10am to 4pm, has over 30 makers.
The fairs have had no charge to get in; the usual WWT charge applies to the wetland reserve. A Christmas Fair with stalls and the lights switch-on fills the Square on a late-November Thursday evening.
Chalets, food trucks and forms for Comber sellers
For a farmers' market stall, phone the committee on 07872 857912; ask early, as places can fill. The market wants food producers and growers.
For the Earlies festival, the council's tourism events form has a Comber Earlies box; it closes in mid-March. Producers who fit the festival's aims come first, then artisan makers, then Comber businesses.
In 2026 a chalet cost £110 and a food truck £160, plus VAT. Send the form to the address printed on it; pay only once your pitch is confirmed. Bring £10 million public and employers' liability cover; no petrol generators.
Earlies, linen and the Square
Comber's directories listed Tuesday as market day up to 1910, and the Andrews family's linen mill ran here until 1997. Today the town is best known for Comber Earlies, the early potato that won protected status (PGI) in 2012.
Who to ask for a pitch
- Ards and North Down Borough Council – tourism eventsThe Comber Earlies Food Festival and other council events: one ANDBC Trading Application form, usually closing in mid-March, returned by email to the event company.website · email
- Comber Farmers' MarketFood stalls at the first-Thursday market in the Square; run by volunteers for Comber Regeneration Community Partnership; there may be a waiting list.website · 07872 857912
- North Down Craft CollectiveA members' collective of makers; join to sell at its Castle Espie craft fairs.website · email
- Ards and North Down Borough Council – licensingStreet trading licences for trading on your own in a street or public place.website · email · 0300 013 3333
Where markets happen in Comber
- St Mary's Parish Church car park, the SquareComber Farmers' Market on the first Thursday of the month (not January), 9am to 1.30pm.The Square, Comber, BT23 5DX
- Comber Leisure Centre car parkThe Comber Earlies Food Festival on a Saturday in late June.Castle Street, Comber, BT23 5DY
- WWT Castle Espie Wetland CentreNorth Down Craft Collective's Easter, August and Christmas fairs, the Gathering Stitches textile festival and Pre-Loved Pop Up markets.78 Ballydrain Road, Comber, BT23 6EA
- The SquareThe Christmas Fair in the Square with the lights switch-on, on a late-November Thursday evening.Comber town centre
- Ballygowan Village HallA Christmas craft fair with local makers in November.Ballygowan
- Moneyreagh Community CentreA community Christmas craft fair in late November.36A Church Road, Moneyreagh, BT23 6BB
Questions about markets in Comber
When is Comber Farmers' Market?
On the first Thursday of the month, 9am to 1.30pm, in St Mary's Parish Church car park on the Square. There is no market in January. Phone 07872 857912 or check its Facebook page before you go.
Is there a market in Comber in January?
No. Comber Farmers' Market takes January off and returns on the first Thursday of February.
When is the Comber Earlies Food Festival?
On a Saturday in late June, 10am to 5pm, in the Comber Leisure Centre car park off Castle Street. Ards and North Down Borough Council runs it, and there is no charge to get in.
How do I get a stall at the Comber Earlies Food Festival?
Tick the Comber Earlies box on the council's tourism events trading form and return it by mid-March. In 2026 a chalet cost £110 and a food truck £160, plus VAT. You need £10 million public and employers' liability insurance.
Comber Christmas market
The Christmas Fair in the Square comes with the lights switch-on on a late-November Thursday evening. The North Down Craft Collective's Christmas Craft Market at WWT Castle Espie is on the last Sunday of November, 10am to 4pm.
How do I get a stall at Comber Farmers' Market?
Phone the market committee on 07872 857912. It is a food and plant market, so it looks for local producers and growers rather than crafts. Places can fill, so ask early.