New Hazy Dayz craft beer, indie music festival proposed for Lismore CBD in September
Vendors from across the nation are set to descend on Lismore to give the flood-stricken regional centre a boost as part of a new music festival.
Regional News
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A new festival proposed to bring craft beer and indie music to Lismore from across the nation is set to bring a much-needed boost to the flood-battered economy.
The festival, Hazy Days, is expected to be held at the Lismore Showgrounds on September 16 this year – weather permitting, and assuming the event gets the tick from Lismore City Council.
The new one-day festival organised by the owners of The Sherwood Hotel on Molesworth St would be a celebration of beer, food and music.
Festival organiser John Elsley said Hazy Days was aimed at “bringing life and energy back to a region” after last year’s floods.
Lismore and the wider Northern Rivers hit headlines nationally and across the globe in the wake of the disasters.
Mr Elsley has owned the Sherwood since 2019.
After rebuilding the Molesworth St pub, the publican said he wanted to put a more positive spin on the regional city and bring some desperately needed fun and joy to the community.
He said the inaugural event would “bring short term and long term economic benefits to the region as it showcases Lismore as a destination to travellers”.
“The event will bring in visitors from outside of the local area, bringing new business to the Lismore region,” he said, confident the festival will be a drawcard.
About 23 staff would be needed and roughly $350,000 would be directly pumped into Lismore’s economy by the open air festival held on the western side of Lismore Showgrounds.
The Sherwood Hotel has a focus on craft beer and Mr Elsley said his festival would showcase independent brewers.
“We’re bringing in all the best independent breweries from around the country – we’ve got some coming up from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane,” he said.
Mr Elsley said he was hoping to attract about 30 different vendors including market and food stalls and food trucks.
The live music line-up is set to include The Beautiful Girls, Lisa Mitchell and Bob Evans, along with a number of Northern Rivers acts.
The council is yet to give the event the green light, but Mr Elsley said he would like the festival to be an annual occurrence.
The event would be limited to 5000 people and some seating would be provided for eating and drinking. Entertainment would run from 1pm to 9.30pm
The Showgrounds hosts much-loved events like the Lismore Farmers Markets, Lismore Show, Tropical Fruits Festival and the Lantern Parade.
Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg was contacted for comment on the new event.
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