Thursday, April 16, 2009

RAINFOREST WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL 2009

STB has already enlisted bands from USA, Portugal, Tanzania, New Zealand, Poland, France and Korea to perform at the 12th edition of the festival which will be staged at the picturesque Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) in Kuching, Sarawak, from July 10 to 12, 2009.

There will also be Malaysian bands including from Sarawak performing and these bands will add musical variety to the festival. The bands that will perform are Zawose Family Africa from Tanzania, Noreummachi (Korea), Moana & the Tribe (New Zealand), Red Chamber (Canada/China), Jouhiorkesteri (Finland), Muzsikas (Hungary), Inti Illimani (Chile), Jeff & The Vida (USA), Dazkarieh (Portugal), Oudaden (Morocco), Poum Tchak (France), Asika (Malaysia), Sekaa Jaya Jenggala (Indonesia), The Nicholas Orchestra (Poland), Lan-E Tuyang (Sarawak, Malaysia), Kinabalu Merdu Sound (Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia) and AkashA (Malaysia).

Promised to be another exciting edition of RWMF, festival goers can expect an interesting mix of world music beat from the bands. They will also showcase some of their unique instruments at the festival. Revelers can also enrich their festival experience by participating in the jamming sessions at the workshops held every afternoon at the various ethnic houses at SCV or visiting the Rainforest World Craft Bazaar (RWCB) held simultaneously with the festival.

Craft making workshop will also be held at the RWCB, besides the exhibition and sales of the crafts. Inquiry on the RWCB can be made to crafthub@gmailc.om and muheidi@pc.jaring.my. There will also be other stalls offering souvenirs and wide range of food and drinks at festival venue. The good fun will continue with the concert held every evening that last until midnight.
The concerts will be held at the main stage and a smaller stage set up at the foot of the legendary Mount Santubong and both having the luxury of the real rainforest as the backdrop. Still going strong after 12 years, the RWMF has come a long way in making a name for it self among the world music followers who are from all corners of the world.

Last year’s record showed that more than 60 per cent of the festival goers were from outside Malaysia, making the festival as the best tourism attraction for Sarawak. It is also acknowledge as one of Malaysia’s best tourism icon and has been listed under the events to be promoted by Tourism Malaysia worldwide.

The RWMF has also gained international recognition by winning prestigious awards like the Pacific Asia Travel Associations Gold Award in 2006, and recently the Aseanta Award of Excellence 2009 for Best ASEAN Marketing and Promotional Campaign category. The Aseanta Award was for last year’s RWMF.

Tickets for the Rainforest World Music Festival 2009 are available online from January 2009. The tickets are priced at RM90 for one-day pass and RM250 for three-day pass each for adult while tickets for children between three and 12 years old is priced at RM45 for one-day pass and RM100 for three-day pass each.
The tickets are available online at www.ticketcharge.com.my and STB is offering an exclusive design t-shirt to those who purchase two three-day passes now. The offer is for only 500 t-shirts and within limited time. The sales of the three-day passes is also offered until June 26 and after that date, only daily passes will be on sale.

As for sales of ticket at the gate during the actual festival date, the tickets will be sold at RM100 for one -day pass (adult) and a child one-day pass is RM55 each. STB is encouraging festival goers to buy their tickets early to avoid the last minute rush.

STB is also honoured to have Malaysia’s sole satelite TV broadcaster Astro as the exclusive media partner. RWMF 2009 is also supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia and Ministry of Urban Development and Tourism, Sarawak and endorsed by Tourism Malaysia.

There are daily flights to Kuching from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu on Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia and from Singapore on AirAsia, Silk Air and Tiger Airways. Royal Brunei Airlines also has regular flights from Bandar Seri Begawan to Kuching.

Details and update on RWMF 2009 are available on the festival website at www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com.

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