Coming together for NAIDOC Celebration Day

LISMORE City Council’s annual NAIDOC Celebration Day is set to be held on Thursday, June 30.

Lismore City Council’s annual NAIDOC Celebration Day will be held next week. Picture: Chris Ison

LISMORE City Council's annual NAIDOC Celebration Day is set to be held on Thursday, June 30, to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

The annual NADOC Celebration Day is a free event at the Lismore Showground featuring more than 50 service providers from around the Northern Rivers promoting services and support available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The family fun day offers lots of activities for young and old with food and live music, rides and jumping castles, face painting and clowns, and reptile shows with the Snake Man.

There is also a special talent showcase by local schools and the NAIDOC Leadership Awards will be presented by Lismore's Deputy Mayor.

"NAIDOC Celebration Day is about honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture with fun, colour and music," Council's Integrated Planning Manager Annie McWilliam said.

"Coming together in celebration is an important and informal way to share culture, and events like this deliver reconciliation outcomes in real and authentic ways.

"The day brings together people from different backgrounds so that they can talk to one another, learn from one another, laugh with one another and ultimately, leave with a greater appreciation and understanding of each other.

"It's really all about connecting on a simple, human level."

The 2016 NAIDOC theme is Songlines: The living narrative of our nation, which references the 'dreaming tracks' that crisscross Australia and are said to trace the journeys of ancestral spirits as they created the land, animals and lores.

These dreaming tracks are sometimes called 'songlines' and are recorded in traditional songs, stories, dance and art, allowing Aboriginal culture, history and knowledge to pass from generation to generation.

The NAIDOC Celebration Day runs from 10am to 2pm on Thursday, June 30, at Lismore Showground.

Lismore City Council is running a free community shuttle bus and the timetable is as follows:

Pick-up:

• Goonellabah Shopping Centre: 9am/10.10am
• Shearman Drive: 9.10am/10.20am
• Lismore Shopping Square: 9.20am/10.30am
• Lismore Transit Centre: 9.30am/10.40am
• Old Railway Station in South Lismore: 9.40am/10.50am
• Lismore Showground: 9.50am/11am

Drop-off:

• Lismore Showground: 1pm/2.10pm
• Old Railway Station in South Lismore: 1.10pm/2.20pm
• Lismore Transit Centre: 1.20pm/2.30pm
• Lismore Shopping Square: 1.30pm/2.40pm
• Shearman Drive: 1.40pm/2.50pm
• Goonellabah Shopping Centre: 1.50pm/3pm