The Lismore Friendship Festival Inc (LFFI) is a passionate non-profit community organisation dedicated to celebrating Italian culture, community connection, and regional pride in the Northern Rivers.
From 2016 to 2019, LFFI successfully hosted Piazza in the Park in Spinks Park, Lismore, held the day after the iconic Lismore Lantern Parade. Like many events around the world, we were forced to pause during 2020 and 2021 due to Covid, and in 2022, devastating floods prevented the festival’s return. But in 2023, we came back with a bang—and the event has grown bigger and brighter ever since.
Reimagined as LisAmore! – Loving Lismore, our festival now takes place at the Lismore Turf Club and offers a full day of food, music, dance, language, stories, and fun—honouring the rich legacy of Italian settlers who have helped shape our region over the past 140+ years. The event is also a celebration of our friendship-city relationships with Conegliano and Vittorio Veneto in northern Italy.
LisAmore! is more than a festival—it’s an invitation to connect. We collaborate with the Lismore Lantern Parade and other local groups to build a broader Lismore is a Winter Wonder program, enticing visitors to stay and experience everything Lismore has to offer.
From bocce to opera, salami wheels to spaghetti-eating contests, Italian storytelling to dance workshops, LisAmore! brings the joy of cultural celebration to locals and travellers alike. It’s a chance for residents, businesses, artists, and volunteers to come together in the spirit of fun, heritage, and hospitality.
We also proudly host Beyond Venice, our annual masquerade dance party in February, continuing our mission to foster connection and creativity through Italian culture.
We warmly thank photographers Peter Derrett, Andrew Sooby, and Lisa Gough for capturing the vibrant energy of LisAmore! in the images featured on this site.
Whether you’re a first-time guest or a long-time supporter—we invite you to join us, laugh with us, eat with us, and celebrate Lismore’s Italian heart.