ABOUT
ABOUT EAT THE STREET
Saturday August 21, 2021
Eat the Street is a food, arts and music event celebrating the cosmopolitan and eclectic culture of Lismore. Now in its seventh year the event attracts ‘foodies’ and ‘culture’ buffs from far and wide and is fast becoming a highlight on the North Coast’s event calendar as an event not to be missed!
In 2021 the event will be held on Saturday 21 August in the Lismore’s Central Business District (CBD) featuring the newly refurbished Lismore Laneways. The two main roads in the heart of the city will be closed to traffic and transformed into a sea of beautiful white marquees with fabulous local food & beverages on offer. The beautiful wide streets lined with heritage buildings and giant fig trees become the setting for a fabulous celebration of food, live entertainment and cultural activities.
Inspired by a world of street food styles our local and regional cafes and restaurants showcase fresh regional cuisine proving fabulous tasting plates. There are tempting treats from every corner of the globe, luscious libations from our region’s boutique beverage purveyors and stalls brimming with spectacular local product.
The event is held in Lismore, just one-hour south from the Gold Coast, twenty minutes from iconic Nimbin, and thirty minutes inland from popular Byron Bay. It’s home to around 45,000 people and is surrounded by beautiful, lush countryside, pockets of small villages and nestled between World Heritage Rainforest. It’s a city of contrasts and diversity and is known for its links to the agricultural and dairy industries as well as the Northern Rivers centre for business, education, culture, retail, sport and health. It has a strong connection to culture and the arts through partnerships with Northern Rivers Performing Arts (NORPA), the Lismore Regional Gallery and the Northern Rivers Conservatorium of Music.
History
Eat the Street was first established in 2015 by the Lismore Business Promotion Panel in partnership with Lismore City Council and managed by Council’s City Centre Manager. The first event attracted 8,000 people and sold over 500 tasting plates per stall.
In 2016 18,000 people attended the event. The coordination of the event, outsourced in the previous year, was brought back into Council and managed by the Tourism + Events team successfully winning the 2016 Mainstreet Australia Awards.
In 2017 the event successfully attracted 21,000 people and sold on average 1,200 tasting plates per food stall. Retailers in and around the city centre saw an increase in business with many participating by promoting special event offers, extended trading hours and free footpath trading encouraged.
In 2018, despite the rain, over 18,600 people filled the streets of Lismore. There were thousands of plates of food, local and celebrity chefs demonstrated their mastery, while farmers talked about how the food was grown and prepared to an audience of on lookers. The streets were filled with laughter and joy as our community, friends and visitors listened, enjoyed, tasted and participated in live entertainment, performances, activities, competitions, tours and cooking classes from midday through until 8pm.
In 2019 the sun came out to play with over 25,000 people attending the event between 12 and 9pm. Once again visitors enjoyed a fabulous range of over 50 food and trade stalls, cooking demonstrations and cooking classes. The Progressive dinner was held on the Thursday prior to the event and for the first time visitors enjoyed Mixology masterclasses at the Loft.