Braddon's Haig Park markets were host to dozens of excited families on Easter Sunday, with kid-friendly activities and clear skies drawing a larger turnout than anticipated.
While many choose to clear out of Canberra over holiday periods, the market's director Alexandra Webb said healthy attendance on Sunday showed there were many still eager to celebrate within the local community.
"Last year we closed on Easter, and we thought with so many festivities going on over Easter we may as well open up this year, and it was a big hit," she said, having just farewelled the Easter bunny, who was off to the next appointment.
"We just have such a perfect location to have the [Easter egg] hunt in the park, and [saw] a bit more of a turnout than I expected."
Ms Webb said she did experience a jolt, staring at what looked like a stampede of children ready to hunt out Easter eggs, and wondering whether she had catered accordingly.
"Gosh, I thought I had enough eggs, I had 300 eggs and only gave out two each and they're all gone, so there was a lot of kids."
Helen Huang was one of many parents out in the sun on the holiday, bringing her two children Iona and Cara down to experience the delights.
"We went for an Easter egg hunt up in the Mercure earlier, and then we came here," Ms Huang said.
The family milled about in the sun waiting for a turn at the face-painting station, with Iona set on getting a lion or dog, Cara, a princess.
"We just look at this family time, to get together, I think it's everyone's got busy lives and it's nice to be together," Ms Huang said.
The Huang family visited from NSW, with market organiser Ms Webb saying that vendors were also reporting a few tourists in the area.
The markets, which launched in February last year, have become popular with tourists and locals alike, Ms Webb said. Most of the stalls are local businesses offering wares and produce from the region.
Another Easter favourite, tickets for the steam train between Kingston and Bungendore and back sold out.
"The local population has embraced it, so we sold out this weekend - we didn't think we would - put on a couple more on Monday, and they sold out," Picnic Train customer service manager Richard Whitford said.
The former NSW government railways locomotive 5917 runs services in conjunction with the Canberra Railway Museum and Picnic Train, passing Molongolo River Gorge and rural countryside on its way to Bungendore.
Those piling on board came dressed up, kids with chocolate in-hand, and some with elaborate picnic spreads to enjoy during the journey, Mr Whitford said.
"Everyone loves a steam engine," he said, asked about the trip's popularity.
"The sight, the smell, the experience of heritage carriages, being able to open the window. And it's such a beautiful run up the Molongolo River Gorge and across all that beautiful land into Bungendore."
Others spent the day simply soaking in the sun in Canberra's green spaces, with warm weather only expected to last over Sunday and Monday.
BOM predicts Tuesday is likely to see a maximum temperature of 20 degrees with a 60 per cent chance of rain.
