The cliche is that Italians love large family gatherings, and that is exactly what the organisers of this year's 2024 LisAmore! Festival want to create at the Lismore Turf Club next Sunday, June 16. They would like the family to be around 3,000 people laughing, drinking, eating, and dancing the day away under picture-perfect blue skies.

Of course, there is a great deal of hard work that happens before next Sunday. The Lismore App found Aliison, Marie and Gianpierro calculating where all this year's features will be positioned.

"We're out here today mapping out the Lismore Turf Club to try and fit everything in that we are envisioning for LisAmore! and where it should go.

"We're going to have some fantastic stalls selling Italian food, Italian wine, Italian desserts, we've got a pasta bar happening, we've got a children's play area, which has got games and activities, more than last year."

"And we've got a huge dance floor that goes in front of our stage near the carpark entrance to get everyone up and dancing."

Music will be provided by Domenico and the Latin Mafia Band.

"We're looking forward to having him perform again. He brings the Italianness to the day, and he gets everyone up dancing. It's just fantastic."

Italian car lovers will once again see a magnificent display of the prancing horses from the Queensland Ferrari Club. The Ferraris were hugely popular in 2023 and will no doubt be a major drawcard again.

(The 2023 LisAmore! Ferrari display)

"If people are coming and bringing their Italian car and don't want to stay the whole day," Aliison explained, "We're going to set up an area out the front gate where people, as they walk in, will get to see the cars."

"We've also got the Queensland Ducati Club dropping in again. They were here last year, and we're going to give them a space in the stables this year."

One reason to have LisAmore! and the Lismore Lantern Parade within a week of each other is to encourage people from out of town to travel to Lismore and stay to enjoy a week of activities.

"We started working on a concept called a Week of Winter Wonder. There's this beautiful week of activities that people can come and do in Lismore. Things like our incredible bushwalks, explore the Rail Trail, Botanic Gardens, Friends of the Koala Tour and more. People can have a look at our website for more information https://lismorefriendshipfestival.com.au/lisamore/visit-lismore-a-week-of-winter-wonder/.

LisAmore! has been part of the winter events calendar since 2016. It started, not only to support the Lismore Lantern Parade in attracting more people to visit our city, but to strengthen the ties of our twin Italian sister city relationships.

The Mutual Friendship Declaration with Conegliano and Vittorio Veneto, in northeast Italy, commenced on the 10th of June, 1991. Lismore City Council’s long-standing relationship with Conegliano aims to provide opportunities for a broad spectrum of exchange in sports, culture, education and business and is reinvigorated through active contact with the Mayor of the Comune of Conegliano and its citizens through the sister city committee from Lismore City Council. A renewed commitment has been received from the Mayor of Conegliano, with a number of opportunities for shared expression identified over the coming years.

"When you think about the emigration of the Italians into this area, how much that they have positively contributed to Lismore and the whole region, and continue to, is quite outstanding and deserves celebration."

That celebration kicks off at 10am next Sunday, June 16 at the Lismore Turf Club and runs until 3pm. There will be plenty of parking for a minimal $3 charge to help manage the car parking situation.

Vieni e divertiti! (Come and have some fun).