KABONG: The Kabong International Kite Festival (KIKF) will kick off this coming March, after a hiatus of three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The one-week festival in past years saw participation from various countries, especially Brunei and Indonesia, besides local inter-state participants, where hundreds of kite flyers flocked to the state.
Kabong assemblyman Mohd Chee Kadir said KIKF 2023 will see more entries this year, anticipating 36 countries to take part.
“We have decided to organise KIKF once again at Tanjung Kembang beach from March 1-6.
“Insya-Allah, this year the festival will be greater than ever, in which we are expecting over 90 kite players from 36 countries, including Malaysia,” he said, after chairing the KIKF 2023 meeting Bil1/2023 here yesterday.
Chee Kadir said various programmes have been scheduled throughout the festival, which include cultural stage performances, kite competition (including LED kites), fishing and tug of war activities alongside food stalls selling original Sarawakian food and of course, craft corners where visitors can learn to make a kite.
“Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg is expected to officiate at the KIKF 2023 on March2.
“However, if there are any directives from the government due to any possible coronavirus outbreak, then we must comply,” he added.
The KIKF is an annual event in Kabong.
In the past, the festival saw professionals, amateurs, big families joining the fun, making awesome kites of various shapes and flying them.
Every year the festival organisers try to break their previous records. One of the latest was to simultaneously launch 2,500 diamond kites, which formed a huge arched kite tunnel.
