About us

Hello,

My name is Ricky and I'm the creator of Umbala events and all the associated markets attached to this business.

The initial inspiration for my business started in early 2015, where I was inspired by fairtrade products from my home country of South Africa. At first I started by importing colourful beaded jewellery and beaded sculptures. This is where the name Umbala was born, as it means colour in the Zulu language, which was a very natural fit for the product and business.

For many years I loved attending markets as a customer; the feel and energy of a market was enticing and energising. Becoming a stallholder was a great experience and I loved attending markets. Meeting stallholders and organisers enriched the soul and taught me valuable lessons. It did not take long for me to see an opportunity for a new market on the Central Coast...

By mid 2015, I noticed a potentially amazing venue for a market in my neighbourhood of Umina Beach. It all started off as an enquiry to our local council on how to start a market in this area. Let me be honest... the information I received was extremely overwhelming. The amount of work that needed to be done to create this event seemed unachievable at the time... however I convinced myself to take things one step at a time.

That is exactly what I did, I took my time compiling each aspect of this market. It took months to work out all the logistics and to gather support from the local community. By November 2015, I was finally ready for our inaugural Market at Umina Beach Markets!  There were over 60 stalls booked in... Facebook support was astounding, we were all ready and excited for our first event!

Guess what happened!!! The very first Umina Beach Markets was cancelled due to heavy rain! I was devastated. Stallholders were devastated! All I could do that day was curl up in bed and feel sorry for myself... let the trauma that is events management start... lol

Despite this I had another month to try again and the wait was worth it. Our official first event was in December 2015 and the support from the local community was unexpected and incredible. It was evident that the local community were eager for a local market like this and so we grew and grew. Now Umina Beach Markets has over 100 stalls.

After operating the markets for a couple of years I became inspired to create a vegan festival. In March 2017 the very first Alive Plant Based Festival was created. This event was crazy successful. The amount of people that attend this event was incredible and to this date is the most popular event that I have created. After moving away from the vegan lifestyle, it only made sense to pass on the event to someone else. 

In December 2017 Woy Woy Waterfront Markets was born (previously known as Handmade on the Coast). This event is an intimate market with only 40 stalls, however all stalls have  a creative approach to their business and is the key difference to this event. After moving location to the waterfront, this has become my favourite market. The energy, view and atmosphere of this event is unmatched. I love Woy Woy Waterfront Markets.

The journey that is events management is certainly colourful. The ups and downs... the entangled history... the drama and the fun... it's only fitting to have the name Umbala Events.

Thank you for reading my story and I hope you enjoy coming to our events.

Kind Regards

Ricky Simoes

Founder of Umbala Events.

Umbala Events acknowledge that the land where our events are held is the traditional land of the Darkinjung people. We pay respect to their elders past, present & future.