At the February 1966 meeting of the Clinton Lions Club, a proposal was made to build an attractive planter at Elm and Water Streets. This spot was then occupied by a road barrier; when a new Wabash River bridge was built a short distance to the south, the barrier had been erected to prevent drivers from using the old roadway.

A first project estimate was set at approximately $300 and a committee named to investigate the possibilities. At about the same time, an area television station asked the Clinton Chamber of Commerce to submit a representative photograph that could be used on broadcasts to community at a glance.

A photographer from Daily Clintonian was asked to provide the image, and because he was also a member of the Lions Club project committee, he prompted the publication of several newspaper articles citing Clinton's lack of identity and urging cooperation with the Lions' proposed project. Readers responded with a variety of suggestions, which included connections with the city's history of coal mining and its current wealth of Italian restaurants. Members of the Lions' committee considered the various proposals, chose an Italian theme, and decided to abandon the planter idea; to them, the Italian theme seemed natural because a neighborhood in the city's north had been heavily Italian earlier in the city's history.

As the Lions began to prepare for the festival, they invited representatives of other local organizations to participate, and approximately thirty groups were represented at the next planning meeting. Amid sketches of suggested fountains, planters, speaker-band platforms, and general Old World scenic settings, the delegates chose the name "Project LIFT"; the latter word was meant to be an acronym for "Little Italy Festival Town" as well as indicating the delegates' hope that the festival would give their community a lift.

The fountain was the first project of LIFT and is the focal point of the festival. You can find this fountain on Water Street looking over the Wabash River!