The Sarawak Craft Festival has brought 100 craft entrepreneurs from throughout the country to the banks of the Sarawak River, from October 26 to November 4.

There are 82 entrepreneurs participating from Sarawak, in addition to eight participants from Sabah, one from Terengganu, three from Kelantan, two from Selangor, one from Melaka, one from Perak and three from Negeri Sembilan.

This festival is being held in conjunction with the Kuching Waterfront Festival 2018, and coincides with the International Dragon Boat Race (October 26-28) and the Sarawak Regatta (November 2-4), which is also being held at the Kuching Waterfront.

Some of the wares on sale include textiles, jungle produce, ceramics, beadwork, accessories, metals and various other crafts.

The Sarawak Craft Festival aims to encourage Malaysians, especially the youth, to appreciate and use locally-made craft products as part of their lifestyle.

Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) participated in the 24^th edition of Womex – The World Music Expo at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain from Oct 24–28.

With such a positive enquiries from international bands and artistes, it comes as no surprise that Sarawak can become a key market to music lovers all over the world”, said STB Events and Corporate Relations director Angelina Bateman.

Attending the event with the RWMF organising staff were award-winning Sarawak band and two-time RWMF star group, Nading Rhapsody, who are known for their blend of traditional and contemporary Sarawak music.

Represented by Royston Kulleh and Azhfar Raimi, Nading Rhapsody hoped to gain as much international  experience as possible from this renowned world music expo.

“Attending Womex is a big step for us and an opportunity to promote the unique music from Sarawak,” said Royston Kulleh. He and Azhfar Raimi represented Nading Rhapsody at the expo.

RWMF has garnered international recognition in the 21 years it has been held, with over 20,000 festival goers attending in 2018

The Sarawak Tourism Board believes in giving Sarawakian music artistes opportunities to perform at an international level as RWMF continues to bring in global music audience, as well as facilitating their presence in the international world music scene.

“STB provides an avenue for representatives to attend this international event with us and promote themselves on the international music scene, in the hope that they would be able to perform on  their own at international events outside Malaysia and prove that Sarawak has something unique to offer in terms of music and culture,” said Angelina Bateman, STB Director of Events and Corporate Services, as well as organising director of the RWMF.

Womex which has travelled all over Europe since 1994 is recognised as the most important international professional market of world music.

While the Sarawak Museum is under renovation and the Sarawak Museum Campus and Heritage Trail is being constructed, there are still plenty of other museums and galleries that you can visit in Kuching. In fact, there are 11 of them.

The Urang Sarawak Gallery located at the Sarawak Art Museum next to the closed Sarawak Museum building displays the rich religious, cultural and historical heritage of the Chinese, Malay, Dayak and Orang Ulu people of Sarawak.

The Chinese History Museum at the Kuching Waterfront and the Islamic Heritage Museum at Jalan P. Ramlee, display the heritage of the Chinese and Malay communities in Sarawak respectively. 

The Textile Museum showcases authentic textiles made by the main ethnic communities of Sarawak, with the Tun Jugah Pua Kumbu Museum at Tun Jugah Tower focusing on the textiles of the Iban people.

Within the Textile Museum, you can find the Treasures from Nusantara Gallery, displaying 30 Bornean historic artefacts.

There are many more galleries within the city, some focusing on the history of women in the state or the lives of the Brookes, and even a museum focused on all things feline. Read more here…