Borneo Cultural Festival

Borneo Cultural Festival or simplified as BCF is the annual festival of food and music which is held in Sibu, Sarawak on every July–August every year since 2003. The festival is organised by the Sibu Municipal Council.[2] The main scope of BCF is to gather the community of Sarawak mainly in Sibu which is generally came from different ethnic and background, serving the society with a multicultural dance, music and traditional food. It's one of the biggest traditional and yet prestiged festival event in Sibu, Sarawak.

Borneo Cultural Festival
Festival Kebudayaan Borneo
StatusActive
GenreCultural Festivals
FrequencyAnnually
VenueSibu Town Square
Location(s)Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia
Coordinates
CountryMalaysia
Inaugurated2002[1]
Attendance600,000 (2017)[1]
Organised bySibu Municipal Council
Websitesarawaktourism.com/event/borneo-cultural-festival/

History

Since 2005, Borneo Cultural Festival (BCF) is held by Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) in July every year at Sibu Town Square, for a period of 10 days. It is a celebration of traditional music, dances, contests, beauty pageant,[3] food stalls, fun fairs, and product exhibitions. There are 3 separate stages for Iban, Chinese, and Malay performances.[4][5] It draws around 20,000 people every year.[6][7] BCF was stopped briefly in 2011[8] before it was resumed in 2012.[9] Sibu has hosted the National Chinese Cultural Festival (全國華人文化節) twice: in 2001 (18th Festival) and 2009 (26th Festival) which lasted for 3 days.[10] Among the activities organised during this festival were cultural village (a venue designated to showcase cultural heritages from various ethnicity), lantern riddles, cultural dances, Chinese songs, dragon dances, and Chinese calligraphy.[11][12]

Event
The view of Sibu Town Square whereby the festival is traditionally held.

From the past experiences, the venue of the main event will be held in Sibu town square so as the trade fair and the exhibition will be held on the second phase of the town square. Usually the main town square which is located next to Wisma Sanyan will be utilised by the stages and food stalls.

Dates of the Festival
Year Date Venue Attendance
2016 21-30 July[13] Sibu Town Square 500,000[1]
2017 20-29 July[14] 600,000[1]
2018 19-28 July[15] TBA
2019 18-27 July[16] TBA

References
  1. Borneo Cultural Festival 2017 records 600,000 visitors — SMC, The Borneo Post. 8 August 2017.
  2. Sibu Sarawak, Borneo Cultural Festival. "Borneo Cultural Festival". Sarawak tourism. Sarawak tourism.
  3. Rodgers, Gregory. "Festivals in Borneo - Seven Festivals in Borneo not to be missed!". about.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  4. "About Sibu Tradex @ Borneo Cultural Festival 2013". Sibu Trade and Exhibition Centre (Sibu Tradex). Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  5. "Borneo Cultural Festival 2015". Sarawak Tourism Board. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  6. Chua, Andy (27 July 2010). "Borneo Cultural Festival turns Sibu into a melting pot of diversity". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  7. Tan, Raymond (16 July 2012). "Sibu set to become a city of festivals". The Borneo Post. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  8. Wong, Philip (28 April 2011). "SMC decides to scrap Borneo Cultural Fest". The Borneo Post. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  9. Yeo, Calvin (11 March 2011). "Tourism promo to start with infrastructure upgrading". The Star (Malaysia). Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  10. 山, 南 (8 July 2009). "【文教观点】全国华人文化节 (Chinese Culture and Education - National Chinese Cultural Festival)" (in Chinese). International Times (Sarawak). Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  11. "华人文化节今举行 逾千外宾云集诗巫 (Chinese Cultural Festival is held today - Over a thousand guests gathered in Sibu)". United Daily News (in Chinese). isarawak.com.my. 3 July 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  12. "第26屆全國華人文化節開幕禮——文化大匯演 (The 26th National Chinese Cultural Festival Opening Ceremony - cultural extravaganza) ( 5/7/2009 )". uca.org.my (in Chinese). 詩巫省華人社團聯合會 (Sibu United Chinese Association). Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  13. International performances at 13th Borneo Cultural Festival on July 21-30, The Borneo Post. 30 June 2016.
  14. All Systems Go For Borneo Cultural Festival 2017, BERNAMA. 18 July 2017.
  15. Melanaus erect gigantic ‘Itut’ for BCF 2018, The Borneo Post. 16 July 2018.
  16. Borneo Cultural Festival 2019, Sarawak Tourism Board
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