By Alexius Khung & Natasha Jee
KUCHING: The annual Kuching Festival 2019 is back. The 33rd edition of the festival began on Friday night (July 26) and will end on August 16.
Besides its famous food fair, the three-week long event at the compound of Dewan Masyarakat, Jalan Padungan, also features entertainment, a trade fair, music and dance performances which will be held at the Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Theatre, compound and park.
The Kuching Festival brings people of all races in Kuching and from around the world together to celebrate unity and prosperity.
Delegates from Guro district, South Korea, Zhenjiang and Quanzhou, the People’s Republic of China and Asuke, Japan are participating this year’s festival.
Kuching Festival began with just a few humble stalls 33 years ago. Today, it attracts nearly 300 stalls.
New stalls at this year’s festival include those selling White Rabbit Milk Drink, Fruit Flavoured 3D Ice Cream, Durian Churros and Silver-Gold Plated Ice Cream.
The theme of this year’s Kuching Festival is “Happy Kuching”.
We met a family from Holland at the Kuching Festival on Friday night.
In Kuching City for the first time, they said they were lucky to be able to witness and experience the festival.
“It’s a great experience to taste all kinds of food in just one place and also see the people of Kuching and tourists gathering here,” said Anke Jahnssen.
Two best friends, Nurul Azizah Haji Sulaiman, 30, and Sharon Kwan, 22, said that the festival was not just about food but also fostering closer ties among various races.
“Food is not a problem for Muslims because there are many halal stalls. Halal stalls are standing side by side with the non-halal stalls. That is the beauty of Sarawak,” said Nurul Azizah.
