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| Gail Sedorkin

IF you’d like to win a trip for two to Italy, (and who wouldn’t?), then it’s time to buy some tickets in the Cairns Italian Festival Raffle.

There’s more than $14,000 in amazing prizes to be won including the trip to Italy valued at $8000.

You can buy your tickets at Cairns Central (near Williams Shoes) from 9am to 3pm tomorrow, Saturday, July 22, at any of the Cairns Italian Festival events until the final event at Mareeba on August 6, or on the Cairns Italian Festival website.

The lucky winners will be drawn at the Mareeba Salami and Sausages Festa at the Mareeba International Club on Sunday, August 6.

First prize includes tickets for two to Italy, five nights’ accommodation for two people in a 4-star hotel in Rome, daily breakfast, return transfers, and popular day tours to the Vatican Museum and to the Roman Forum.

Second prize is a specially commissioned oil on canvas painting, ‘A Day in Positano’, valued at $3000 – painted and signed by local artist Jori Poutanen.

This colourful painting depicts Positano, a cliffside village in southern Italy’s Amalfi Coast and a well-known holiday destination with a pebble beachfront and steep, narrow streets lined with boutiques and cafes.

Third prize in the Cairns Italian Festival raffle are cash rewards of $300 for 10 lucky people to spend how they like.

All the raffle proceeds will go towards the Cairns Italian Festival Inc., a not-for- profit organisation, funding events such as the free Family Night on July 28, just one of the many Cairns Italian Festival 2023 events to be enjoyed by the whole family.

The winners of last year’s Cairns Italian Festival Major Raffle Prize, Louise and Gerard Montafia, shared their beautiful photos and the following from their trip to Italy:

My husband and I were the lucky winners of the Cairns Italian Festival major raffle prize drawn last year – a trip for two to Italy,” Ms Montafia said.

“This sparked the conversation to make our holiday one to remember and with the help of festival volunteer and Cairns travel agent Patty Poutanen (TravelManagers), we added to our prize and extended our trip to include Sicily, the Italian Riviera, the Cinque Terra and Lake Como,” she said.

“We have just returned from our amazing holiday and we would like to thank the Cairns Italian Festival for making our experience such a fabulous one.

“In true Italian style, we sipped on Aperols and ate endless bowls of pasta – and we wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you.

Tickets can be bought at Cairns Central tomorrow, at any of the Cairns Italian Festival events or visit www.cairnsitalianfestival.com.au/raffle.

(Winners do not have to be at the draw).