Entertainment
10 August, 2025
Italian festival up 15 per cent
THE Cairns Italian Festival has drawn to a triumphant close after another record-breaking year, with organisers estimating attendance was up by as much as 15 per cent from last year.
Festival president Claudio Di Bartolomeo said he was blown away by the turnout at events across the week-long celebration, which included everything from the ever-popular family festival day to this year’s new addition, the long lunch.
“We saw about 12 to 15 per cent more people than last year – it just keeps growing,” he said.
“The long lunch was a beautiful surprise and it was so well received.”
Held at venues across Cairns, the festival offered a mix of Italian music, food, wine, comedy, car displays, spaghetti-eating competitions and cultural exhibitions.
Mr Di Bartolomeo said there was a noticeable increase in interstate visitors from Victoria and South Australia, along with strong local support.
“The vibe was positive,” he said. “What stood out to me was seeing the same people at multiple events across the week, always with smiles on their faces, especially when older members of the community came up and told us how proud they felt, that’s what it’s all about.”
A volunteer army of more than 130 people helped bring the week to life, with some even flying in from interstate.
Behind the scenes, a core team of around 20 worked tirelessly for months in the lead-up.
Organisers made minor but significant tweaks to the layout at Fogarty Park this year, opening up more space and improving crowd flow.
“It made a real difference,” Mr Di Bartolomeo said.
He said the festival now had over 70 sponsors and would take out a whole newspaper page to thank them all.
Authentic flavours of Italy came to the fore last Sunday when Mareeba hosted the Salami and Sausage Festa, with a wealth of beautifully prepared food showcased during the event which is part of the Cairns Italian Festival.
Taking out four of the awards at the event, which was held at the Mareeba International Club, was 19-year-old Salvatore Fortunato, a Sicilian who just moved to Australia with his family a few months ago.
Mr Fortunato, who now lives at Trinity Beach, has a passion for keeping traditional salami making alive, being taught the craft by his father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
At the masquerade cocktail party last Friday night awards were handed out to stalwarts of the festival.
They were:
Italian of the year – Theresa Pin
Community – Piccone family
Art – Suellen Maunder
Hall of fame excellence award – Carl Portella
Life member – Gina Codotto
The Mareeba Bulls and Leichhardt Lions came together on Saturday night to fight out the Moriconi-Bomben Cup in Mareeba as part of the Italian festival.
The cup is named after the late Alf Moriconi of the Mareeba United football club and John Bomben of the Leichhardt Lions. It was won by the Lions 2-1.
Full details on our website.
