The association hopes to resume rescheduling events once 80 per cent of the NSW population has been fully vaccinated.

The president of the association, Lucia Cascio, explained why this decision was made.

“Unfortunately, it’s been like this for over a year and a half,” she said.

“We plan some activities, and then we find ourselves forced to cancel everything.

“That’s why we decided to wait.”

The association was founded over 40 years ago by Italian migrants who wanted to gather together and celebrate old customs in their new country.

“When we organised a party at the end of August, it seemed as though the pandemic had come and gone,” Cascio said.

“The restrictions had eased significantly.

“Everyone was so euphoric that as soon as I sent the shareholders a letter announcing the event, we were sold out.

“The emergence of the Delta variant in Sydney forced us to cancel the event, and I had to apologise to people who had already booked their tickets.”

For months, associations have been faced with a pattern of organising and cancelling events due to the fluctuating COVID-19 restrictions.

Many of these associations are responsible for the social life of Italian communities throughout NSW and rely on events to self-fund.

For the Trinacria Association, past events included many different types of monthly trips.

“We’ve always organised a day trip out of the city to pick fruit, see cherry blossoms and visit new places or old friends.

“Our bus trips were something that many members looked forward to.

“Sharing these moments together created memories we all treasure and we hope to be able to return to our old routines as soon as possible.”

Cascio was greatly saddened by the passing of Gina Ferraro, the secretary of the Trinacria Association.

Ferraro passed away last July, leaving a void in the lives of family members, friends, relatives and colleagues who had shared many moments of joy with her.

Due to the current health restrictions in place in NSW, the secretary position will remain vacant until elections can be held safely.

The current committee of the Trinacria Association will be in office until a general meeting and subsequent elections can be organised.

“The restrictions prevent us from holding a general meeting, where the elections, position appointments and confirmation of committee members take place,” Cascio said.

“In any case, there will be little to decide as we’ve suspended all activities to avoid further disappointing our members.”

Despite the extended lockdown and social isolation in NSW, Cascio has remained positive.

“As soon as we’re sure that we can resume our activities, we’ll be ready,” she said.

“We’ll kick off a busy calendar of events and return to organising trips out of the city.

“We just have to remain hopeful that we’ll be able to do so shortly, and that NSW is able to conquer the COVID-19 outbreak as quickly as possible.

“This is only a temporary hiatus from our usual social events while the NSW government decides which restrictions can be lifted.

“Our members are excited to attend events and see one another as soon as they get the chance.”