General News
2 June, 2025
Italian Festival offers expanded ‘25 program
THE Cairns Italian Festival is back for its fourth iteration with classic beloved events like La Festa and adding a few new twists with a masquerade cocktail party, a long lunch and ‘opera in the tropics’ this July.
For 11 days from July 24 to August 3 Cairns will be the home to the best of Italian cuisine, entertainment and community as the fourth Italian Festival gears up to receive thousands of locals and visitors to join in the celebration across an array of local venues.
This year the festival is bringing some variety to its classic program with new and refreshing additions, some staples of the event and – as always – the best Italian food.
“The Cairns Italian Festival is back for another year and we’re very excited. We have a bigger program and lots of people involved,” said festival president Claudio Di Bartolomeo.
“We have a lot of support from the local community, from the Cairns Regional Council, from our sponsors and people are really excited for another year.
“The festival will run for 11 days and we have 13 events. This year, instead of the gala ball, we have a masquerade cocktail party, a long lunch at Ollie’s Italian and we have the opera in the tropics at the Wharf One Café, so there few new twists to keep people excited. La Festa is coming back, it’s our biggest day, we are expecting 15 to 17,000 people through the door. Last year we had a lot of people from down south at the event so this is bringing visitation to Cairns.”
Cairns Mayor Amy Eden said she was getting ready for all the delicious treats she would be eating this July.
“The famous La Festa – Food and Wine, I’m fasting now so I can just eat myself silly and enjoy the music,” she said.
“And this is just something that brings the community together and it’s for our Italian community to celebrate their culture but also to share it with many more.
“Last year I met a couple who came from Sydney who couldn’t get flights to their hometown in Italy so they came to Cairns instead and after coming to the festival they said they’d be coming every year.”
Cr Eden said local food producers would be proudly showcasing their products.
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