Fruitopia, Kate Bush, and CWA Pickles

“There were about a hundred of us when it started a few years ago,” a woman dressed in red as Kate Bush—for the Wuthering Heights day—told me today. It was at Fruitopia, the Tropical Fruits fair day held at the Lismore Showground.

I’d read on Facebook about the Wuthering Heights event and thought it sounded like a fun, exciting thing to do. I tried to get some family members interested, but I just couldn’t get them motivated.

When I spoke to that woman at the food stall, I think she was the only person at the time who was dressed as Kate Bush and ready to perform. In the end, a few other people turned up, and they did in fact perform it.

Tropical Fruits is the LGBTQIA+ organisation here in the Northern Rivers, which has been around for 30 or 40 years, maybe longer. I remember the very first dance parties held in the area, and of course, the New Year’s Eve party in particular has been a phenomenal success for decades. I’ve been a few times, but to be honest, it’s not entirely my thing. I like my music to have lyrics, whereas a lot of dance music is just that repetitive beat, which doesn’t really appeal to me.

Over the last few years, I’ve much preferred the street parade, the cabaret tents, and the more community-focused elements of the annual festival. That’s why I really enjoyed Fruittopia last year, and again this time around. It was a nice coincidence that I happened to be back in Lismore for it.

I chatted to a couple of acquaintances today and really enjoyed catching up, but mostly it’s a very “alternative” crowd—it has a bit of a hippie vibe about it. Not full-on Nimbin, mind you, but definitely alternative. At the same time, a woman from the CWA (Country Women’s Association) was there judging cakes and selling very good pickles, which I bought and brought home.

Tonight, we had some silverside. The CWA woman had told me the best silverside comes from Aldi, and when I mentioned this to my niece, she agreed completely. It really was lovely silverside, served with mashed potato and those pickles.

Other highlights of the day included the dog show, a recycled fashion parade, and one of the most beautiful Welcome to Country ceremonies I think I’ve ever heard. It was quite lengthy—maybe 20 or 25 minutes—but it really tapped into local history. We learned about the Bundjalung language and the sacred bora rings: one at the showground, one at the high school I used to attend, and another nearby at North Lismore. We also learned how the Lismore Valley was originally marshland, and about the anglicisation of local Aboriginal place names like Gundurimba and Ballina.

All in all, I spent four or five hours at the showground today before heading back into town.