image credit: Veronica Ng
The
Sarawak Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) celebrated its
50th anniversary in style with a gala charity dinner on October 5th and a sold
out free standing one-night music festival on Oct 6th. Both events were held at
the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK).
The
festival is a celebration of music, creating awareness about the plight of
animals and raising funds for the construction of a new shelter for SSPCA’s
rescued, abandoned and unwanted animals.
WAG
featured an evening of artistes, performers and stand-up comedians from
Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Mexico and Spain, while the music genres ranged
from pop to jazz, blues, rock and world music.
WAG
marks World Animal Day, which falls on the 4th of October every year. World
Animal Day was started in 1931 at a convention of ecologists in Florence as a
way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. October the 4th was
chosen as World Animal Day as it is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the
patron saint of animals.
Since
then, World Animal Day has become a day for remembering and paying tribute to
all animals and the people who love and respect them. It is celebrated around
the world in different ways in every country, regardless of nationality,
religion, faith or political ideology.
Approximately
a thousand revelers thronged the World Animal Groove Music Festival, which
featured local crooner Hafiz AF7 and Stanley Meringgai from the sixth season of
Akademi Fantasia.
Among
those flown in for the concert were Victor Valdes and The Quartet from
Australia, Inka Marka from South America and Natasha and the Mellowmotifs from
Bangkok.
On
the sidelines of the main concert were the WAG Bazaar and flea market, and Animal
Blessing ceremony. The concert aimed to raise funds for SSCPA’s new and
improved state-of-the art green shelter which is estimated to cost RM1.5million
Artistes,
both international and local, sang, danced, and teased their hearts out,
entertaining a crowd from all walks of life. Kudos to Artistic Directer Amir Yussof on a job well done.
SSPCA
also held accompanying happenings the day prior to the festival - a Gala Dinner
on Friday, a WAG Bazaar and Flea Market from noon the following day, as well as
an Animal Blessing session later in the afternoon, which also took place at the
Borneo Convention Centre Kuching.
The
night started with a touch of feel good jazz. Music fans were introduced to
Natasha Patamapongs and her band Mellow Motif. The young, pretty and sassy
songstress from Thailand warmed up the concert hall with her strong voice and
cool taste in jazz, while at the same time reminding revelers why they were at
WAG.
While
it was their first time performing at WAG, it certainly was not their first
visit to Malaysia as this reviewer remembers Mellow Motif showcasing their
talents at the Miri International Jazz Festival 2010 (now renamed Borneo Jazz).
They also return to Malaysia every now and then for gigs in Kuala Lumpur,
particularly at No Black Tie.
Akademi
Fantasia Season 6 contestant, Stanley stirred the crowd up with a couple of
songs, including a lovely and heartfelt cover of Josh Groban’s “You Raise Me
Up”. Kuching boy Stanley represented Sarawak in the popular local reality
talent show back in 2008.
Sarawak
is rightfully proud of Stanley as he recently won three silvers and two bronze awards
in the World Championships of Performing Arts (an international competition
with 54 countries worldwide taking part) in Hollywood, for five vocal
categories.
Rip
roaring laughter erupted soon after when Kuala Lumpur’s Bibi KPoh made her appearance
on stage. Multi-talented Bibi is a comedienne, an emcee, dancer, actor, singer
and a producer who manages her own group of performers.
She
had everyone in stitches at her risqué jibes as she ‘tortured’ two male members
of the audience, and mingled with the audience while singing and dancing. In
fact, Bibi’s act was so enjoyable; the crowd roared for an encore, which of
course Bibi coyly and sportingly complied with another dose of her brand of hilarity.
Following
the madcap madness were the dashing Latinos Victor Valdes and The Quartet. Victor
is a true blue Mexican musician and dancer whose specialty is playing the harp,
and boy did he wow people with his incredible harp playing skills.
Not
quite done yet, he went centre stage to show off his tap dancing skills. The
crowed oohed and aahed with each dazzling
step. The award winning solo harpist is also a professional guitar player. From
the conga, bongo, timbale, maracas, cajon, guiros, to almost every other
percussion instrument, he is a truly gifted musician in the rhythms of Latin
America.
Next
up was another Kuching boy, Hafiz - winner of Akedemi Fantasia Season 7. His
appearance definitely had the ladies and teenage girls affected, especially as
he stepped off stage to greet the audience while belting out a string of soulful
ballads.
Hafiz
is already a household name and is no stranger to locals in Malaysia. At only
22 years of age, he has won not only hearts but music awards, proving his soulful
vocal skills are no flash-in-the-pan and making Sarawak proud in the process.
The
final act to rock Kuching that night were Inka Marka, Andes musicians based in
Australia. If they sound familiar, they should be for they have performed at the
Rainforest World Music Festival in 2000, 2002, and 2007. Even after so many
appearances here, they still excited revelers with their music.
The
band has expanded, adding members and is actually more animated on stage now,
and they showcased what they were made of by multitasking with more than one
musical instrument per person. The crowd danced along to their infectious melodies
till the end.
As
the festival drew to a close, all the performers went up the stage to thank
everyone again for supporting such a worthwhile cause before saying goodbye
with a rousing finale.
Veteran
DJ the Projen closed the night, spinning his fabulous mixes.The organizers are already planning for next year, so watch this space for regular updates on the fastest growing festival in Kuching.
