The annual Kuching Festival 2018 is back ! Let’s us see through the three weeks long celebration in conjunction with Kuching City Day. What more ? This year’s edition coincides with Kuching City 30th anniversary celebration. A event not to be miss.
Kuching Festival Logo
Name : Kuching Festival 2018, Kuching Food fair
Opening Hours : Gates open at 4pm, Peak hours starts at 6-8pm till all food sold out, usually ends around 10-11pm.
Entrance : Free
Location : Dewan Masyarakat along Jalan Padungan, Kuching South City Council (MBKS) grounds.
Official Website : https://sarawaktourism.com/event/kuching-festival/
Events : Food Fair, Mayor’s Badminton Cup, a fishing competition, International Cities Night, Kuching Got Talent, Traditional Oriental Music, and Mayor’s Walk.
Soft Opening : 27th July 2018.
Official Opening : 1st August 2018 by Chief Minister of Sarawak, Abang Zohari Openg.
Latitude : 1.5515738259637832
Longitude : 110.36333365145106
Open map with : [Waze] [Google Map] [Bing Map] [HERE Map]
Flash backs : Do read our event post from the previous Kuching Festival 2017.
Important notices : Major festival like this had created many packaging waste, especially non-degradable and dangerous Styrofoam and polystyrene waste, in the past years of celebration. In conjunction with the aim to have a more environmental friendly festival, this years celebration will be declared as ‘no-Styrofoam’ festival. Councillor Goh Chee Hui of Kuching South City Council (MBKS) said unlike in previous years, this year’s event would be used by the council to promote its ‘No Styrofoam’ campaign. People are instead encouraged to bring own containers from home.
Things to expect at Kuching Festival
Kuching Festival is celebrated at Kuching South City Council (MBKS) grounds, which comprise of various areas of events. The highlight of the Festival is the Food Fair and the Opening Ceremony.
The Food Fair is located at the car park area around the Community Hall (Dewan Masyarakat), which is just beside the SJK(C) Chung Hua No.3 (Chinese Primary School). Canopies and stalls will be set up at both sides, with tables and chairs in the center column. There will be a total of 287 food stalls, including 15 serving halal food.
The Community Hall is also act as a exhibition halls for various booths promoting local and branded products, accessories, decorations, services, wedding packages and many more. Do look out for discounts.
The fun fair and games is located near the rear entrance beside the Chinese Garden and Jubilee Sports Complex.
The Jubilee Recreation Grounds is a public park with a huge lake at the center, famous for joggers and evening walks. Beside the lake is the Main Stage where the Opening Ceremony and performance will takes place.
Don’t forget to visit the Garden Park within its compound. It is famous for its night lighting, water features and beautiful flowers and trees.
Click on the following tabs below to learn more about tips and things to expect at Kuching Fest.
Kuching Festival Events List
The Kuching Festival Official Event List.
Traffic around the festive grounds
It is expected that the major road connecting to the festive grounds is congested, especially Jalan Padungan (main road) and Jalan Tan Sri Datuk William Tan. There will be traffic police and RELA around these roads. Part of the road side at Jalan Padungan may reserved for parking for Merchant and Public transports. Make sure you don’t park illegally by the main road that will obstruct the traffic.
This simple map shows the path you can take to reach the Kuching Food Festival 2018.
Parking and Drop offs
Parking can be a major issue during peak hours especially during the opening ceremony and first week of the festival. Being there early will allow you to get a good spot for parking.
There are various parking space available around the MBKS circular landmark building, Jubilee Sports Complex and Commercial area opposite Jalan Padungan.
You can go to the Food Fair via the Main Entrance to the Community Hall at Jalan Padungan. This is usually the main visitor drop-off spot for visitors who wish to visit the food fair first. Illegal parking may risk summons by traffic police on duty and endanger the other users of the road.
Crossing the busy road via the pedestrian bridge is encouraged, especially if you had park your car at the commercial area opposite Jalan Padungan.
e-hailing and Grab
Using public transport or car pooling is usually encouraged during peak hours. For Grab user you can choose to drop at :
- “Dewan Masyarakat Padungan” – which is the location for Kuching Festival Food Fair.
- “Majlis Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Sarawak” or known as “City Government Office” – which is a tall landmark building at the center of the park complex. Just walk a few steps and you will reach the festive grounds.
RM5 x 1
To or from Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan, Limited to 100 rides per day. (Available for Cash, GrabPay & GrabPay Credits)
Pick Up/Drop Off points: 1. Dewan Masyarakat Side Door 2. Hokkien Garden Main Entrance 3. Jubilee Recreation Ground Side Entrance.
Grab Pick up and drop off location.
Payments and Purchases
Almost all of the purchases at Kuching Festival is in cash (MYR) terms. So do bring ample amount of spare cash and change during your visits.
There is no ATM or Banks within the Festive grounds. The nearest banks (ICBC Bank, BSN , Public Bank, Hong Leong Bank) is quite a distance away from the festive grounds.
Tables and Sittings
After you grab your favorite dishes and treats, you can enjoy your food while walking around the food fair or find a table to be seated. The rows of tables and chairs is available in the center column open space between the rows of stalls. It is all first come first serve basis. No bookings and reservations available, so come early before every seats is filled up.
User of the tables are also encourage to clear off the tables after using by throwing the waste into the nearest waste bin provided.
Best Selling Food
New to Kuching Festival ? Not sure which stall to start first ?
A simple tips for ensuring you make the best choice out of many option is to follow the crowd. The best selling food will be the stall with longest queue. Don’t rush, have a tour around the food fair first before making a decision on which food to purchase.
Heat and Crowd
The most common discomfort that visitor may face is the heat and the crowd. There will be allot of stalls offering fried and barbecue food, causing a perceivable heat at some location. You may need to take enough water to cool down, or some will bring along hand fan or portable USB electric fan. Wear comfortably.
There will be allot of walking during the fest. The crowd will be overwhelm during peak hours. Make sure you don’t get loss in the crowd, especially those with younger children. Some parents will get their kids some floating balloons (many different type of balloons sold in the festival, some with LED lights) and tie the end of the string on their kid’s hand, for easy identification in the crowd.
The Preparation of Kuching Festival 2018
The preparation of the festival starts early with setting up of the canopy booths and stalls. During our visits two days prior to the event, the banners and decorations is being set up. Creativity is unlimited when comes to booth decorations and banner designs. The most elaborate designs still goes to ‘Mongolia Master’ with its double storey booth construction, however the best designed booth will be known once the event had started.
Unlike previous years, this year Kuching Festival 2018 main entrance doorway is digital with LED display showing motion displays and latest events. It is in keeping with Sarawak going into digital age. Furthermore with environmental friendly in mind, these LED displays can be reused in many different functions and events, in contrast with previous, use-once banners and decorations.
Click here to learn more
Unlike previous years, this year Kuching Fest entrance doorway is digital.
Shop owners starts their set up early.
Kuching Fest 2018 preparation day.
Creativity have no limits in booth decorations.
As usual, some go extra miles in their decoration and setup.
The Opening Ceremony and Performance
The opening ceremony and official launch of the Kuching City 30th Anniversary Pearl Jubilee celebration had been successfully proceed on 1st August 2018. Thousands have witness the launching events from the main stage and the live broadcast screen around the Kuching Festival Fair, despite there was a heavy rain during the event.
The event started off with Speech by mayor of Kuching South and North City Hall, then Opening speech by Sarawak Chief Minister, before proceeding to the launching of the event with placement of pearl replica gimmick, placement and signing of time capsule (that to be open later during Kuching City 50th Anniversary celebration), and fireworks display.
The event is also complimented with various performances from local and international, including performers from Kunming, Zhenjiang and Goru Korea.
Official Opening Ceremony of Kuching Festival and the launching of Kuching City 30th Anniversary Pearl Jubilee Celebration.
Beautiful Fireworks.
Traditional Multicultural Dances.
Traditional Multicultural Dances.
Colorful Yunnan traditional dance.
Southern Martial Arts.
Traditional Dance Performance.
Traditional Korean Musical Performances.
Below are more videos from the Kuching Festival opening ceremony event.
More Opening Ceremony Videos
Lagu MBKS Terus Maju – The Corporate song of MBKS as performed during the opening ceremony of Kuching Festival 2018 .
Speech By Mayor of Kuching North Y.Bhg. Datuk Haji Abang Abdul Wahap Bin Haji Abang Julai.
Speech By Mayor of Kuching South Y. Bhg. Dato’ James Chan Khay Syn.
Opening Speech By Chief Minister of Sarawak Datuk Patinggi Abang Haji Abdul Rahman Zohari.
The Official Launching of Kuching City 30th anniversary Pearl Jubilee celebration and Kuching Festival 2018.
The Official Video of Kuching City 30th anniversary Pearl Jubilee celebration as presented during the Opening Ceremony of Kuching Festival 2018 .
A multicultural/multiracial performance by Petra Dancer – Rentak Kenyalang – is a dance incorporate all the dance of various ethnics in Sarawak.
Colourful Yunnan by National Dancer from Kunming, Yunnan Province.
Dance Performance by dancer from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province.
Korean Traditional Musical Performance – Sanjo Samuel Nori by performer from Goru South Korea.
Martial Arts of the Southern School of Cantonese Opera.
Multicultural Performance – Orang Ulu and Orang Iban Dance by Petra Dancer.
The Yi Nationality Dance – Love War – by Dancer from Kunming, Yunnan Province.
Korean Folk Music Tradition – pungmal – by performers from Goru, South Korea.
Chinese Fan Dance by dancer from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province.
Chinese Opera – Pylon in Royal Palace.
Contemporary Dance by Petra Dancer.
The Kuching Festival Food Fair 2018
The Kuching Festival Food Fair 2018 had been organised successfully at MBKS ground with tenth of thousands of people visits per day from 27th July till 19th August 2018.
Locals and international tourist all come to this food fair to taste the variety of local and specialty foods and drinks. It is indeed becomes a central hub for variety of food and beverage outlets and restaurant. Ice creams, roasted, barbecued, frozen, baked, stewed, fried, flame burned … you name it and it is in. This festival had boost the local food industry to a new heights every year.
As early as 4PM in the afternoon when the gates opened to the public, people already rushing to the stalls and being the early birds for many of the delicacies on sale. By 5PM the nearby carparks is fully packed and traffic becomes slow as more and more roadside been occupied with illegally parked vehicles. 6PM is when the Peak hours started.
People had started to flood the food fair as early as gate opens at 4PM.
The new sensation in town – Gold Ice-cream.
Lights-on during dusk.
Beautiful dusk at kuching fest.
More crowd at night.
Do try out their signature special rice rolls.
Tasty rice rolls.
Mongolia Master – being the most exaggerated designed stall as usual.
Try some grill ham.
Long queue in some of the stalls.
Rainbow cheese inside. Bite it and you will talk with rainbows from your mouth.
Fried noodles, fried rice and and fried Kweh Tiaw.
Crocodile meat is back ! dare to try ?
Tasty octopus.
Try your luck here at the largest egg machine in town.
