KUCHING: The Rainforest World Music Festival 2019 (RWMF) has proven that it is more than just a music festival as a total of 23,650 visitors from all parts of the world attended the three-day festival.
Twenty-two years ago, the RWMF began as a very small gathering of 300 people. Fast forward to 2019, the festival has gained worldwide recognition and won multiple awards.
This year’s edition of the RWMF was artfully arranged with a seamless and flawless sequence of the nightly concerts.
The 2019 line-up featured 30 bands and more than 200 performers including from the Chilean island of Rapa Nui in the South Eastern Pacific Ocean.
From the South West Pacific Ocean, Wai from New Zealand gave mesmerising performances at the Theatre Stage and at the mini sessions throughout the three-day festival.
Five Sarawakian bands, more than any of the previous years were featured this year. At Adau brought their legions of fans who danced along with their vibrant performance fusing ancient melodies and rhythms of different tribes.
Kemada featured traditional Iban music, games, culture while Suku Menoa brought to the festival Iban music, rituals and chants.
Staak Bisomu provided a glimpse of the Bidayuh cultural heritage and Suk Binie’s performance was an energetic mix of traditional melodies from various ethnic communities of Sarawak.
This year saw an increase in audiences at the afternoon interactive and education workshops as well as jamming sessions and mini concerts.
Side activities held during the day in collaboration with RWMF partners included Friends of Sarawak Museum, Rainforest World Crafts Bazaar and Sarawak Biodiversity Centre.
What About Kuching (WAK) @ RWMF make their debut this year as artists, artisans, poets, sports trainers, and filmmakers from the Kuching community liven up the atmosphere at Damai Central.
Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) intensified their greening initiatives this year. The biggest impact was discouraging the use of plastic bottled water.
Festival goers brought along their own empty bottles which they could fill from water dispensing stations supplied by Cuckoo.
For its waste management strategy, STB worked with Trienekens and partnered with Spativate in coming up with eye-catching designs on waste bins.
Biji-Biji was on hand to make sure waste was collected for composting. Next year’s edition of the RWMF will be held from July 10 to 12, 2020.
