Lismore Lantern Parade Festival $500,000 upgrade of Manns Road starts in mid-June

Council is starting the long-awaited upgrade of Manns Road in the Mullumbimby Industrial Estate in midJune which includes the reconstruction of a 400m section of road.

The upgrade has been made possible thanks to $500,000 funding from the NSW Government.

By Kate Coxall

This Saturday a Northern Rivers favourite returns, for it’s 29th year of “bringing light to the city”, the warming Winter Festival that candle/ flame’s. There will be the popular Lantern Decorating stall at the festival, before the parade starts as well.

The theme this year is “Gates of Renewal” which organisers say forward with renewed hope and energy”. brings the light, to the darkest time of the year.

Lismore Lantern Parade. The festivities will last from 12 noon to 8:30pm.

The parade is set to depart from Magellan St at 5:30pm, then will depart from Magellan St at 5:30pm and head down Molesworth St, passed the Memorial Baths to Victoria St,into Riverside Park, and back to it’s original home on the banks of the Wilsons River, where the finale can be enjoyed by young and old alike.

This year, unlike any other before, families who want to bring their own lanterns are allowed to do so, however lanterns must only have LED/Battery operated lights, no

“reflects the history of the lantern parade, which celebrates Winter Solstice, the changing from the longest nights, to the return of the sunknown as liminal space, where optimism and magic happen. We hope this will bring positivity and happiness to our community- moving

Commencing during the day in the heart of Lismore, the CBD, there will be a musical program and markets, known as the “Market deLight.” Organisers say “The Northern Rivers Conservatorium and Southern Cross University will once again present a fabulous musical program on the Heartbeats Festival Stage in Carrington St”. With activities all day for the kids, and enchanted windows, and many popup and regular eateries,putting on something extra special for the event, it’s always worth heading along early, to enjoy the whole experience, and support the Lismore community. After the Fiery Finale, the iconic Jimmy Willing and the Hotel Metropole will entertain those who wish to celebrate the return of the sun, even longer!

The Lismore Lantern Parade is run by LighnUp Inc, which is a community, artsbased, not for profit organisation based in Lismore, who has a strong commitment to social inclusion and access to the arts.

“Manns Road has been in terrible condition for a long time which is why we’ve sought funding for a full reconstruction of what is the main road of this industrial estate area,” Council’s Director Infrastructure Services, Phil Holloway said.

“This will be a gamechanger for residents, workers and customers of the Mullumbimby Industrial Estate – a brand new, smooth road that is made to last for the long-term and has a design life of around 20 years,” he said.

Council crews will be setting up the works from Wednesday 14 June, with removal of the current surface starting from Monday 19 June, weather depending.

“We want to notify the wider Mullumbimby community and everyone who visits the industrial estate and the rugby league grounds about the timing of these major works because there will be some traffic impacts and delays,” Mr Holloway said.

Traffic management will be in place throughout the project and vehicle access will be reduced to one lane at times.

There will be a detour around Towers Drive for the duration of the project and electronic signage will be in place. Both lanes of traffic on Manns Road may need to be closed at certain times during the works but will be limited to 10-15 minutes in duration.