COUNTDOWN TO THE RAINFOREST WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL     (中文)

Date: 04 July 2006
Written By: Yeoh Jun-Lin

It’s just a matter of days now to the long-awaited Rainforest World Music Festival.

July 7th, 8th and 9th  are the dates to block off in your diary if you have not yet done so.

The organizer of the festival, the Sarawak Tourism Board, has laid down all the ground work preparation of bringing in 16 different acts to the two stages at the Sarawak Cultural Village.

There will be bands from  Madagascar, Austria, Mali, France, Latin America, Scotland, Kyrgyzstan, Canada, Mongolia, Malaysia, Korea and more.

The festival will be in 2 parts – afternoon workshops and evening shows. Day passes of RM60 each (RM30 for children aged 3 – 12) will gain you access to both. The festival was so overwhelmed by so many people in the audience last year that the tickets this year has been limited to a certain number for each day.

If you have not purchased your tickets yet, it might be wise to contact the Visitor Information Centres in Kuching, Sibu and Miri, or the Sarawak Tourism Board at 082-423600. If there are ticket returns, they will be on sale at the gate, but rather than running the risk of disappointment, get your tickets early. Last year, Saturday night was completely sold out before the festival, so the organizers are advising that pre-bought tickets will be the best way to have some peace of mind.  

There is also an outlet in Kuala Lumpur –
SARAWAK PARADISE IN BORNEO
No. 25 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
 
Tel:  03 - 214 26113 or 03 - 214 26111
Fax: 03 - 214 26112
E-mail:  swakkl@streamyx.com

Online tickets can also be bought through the website www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com

Rooms at all the hotels in the Santubong area seem to be fully booked from months ago. You can still try to see if there are any returns. If not, stay in Kuching and take the RWMF shuttles up to the festival. These shuttles would be stopping at strategic points around the city. Schedules will be in the local press or at the website.

This year, the road leading to the Sarawak Cultural Village will be blocked off quite a distance away (near the entrance to the Santubong Kuching Resort) to ease the blockage of the road from cars parked along the sides of the narrow road. Official RWMF shuttles will be running from this point to the Cultural Village but a fee will be charged for this.

The Sarawak Tourism Board is urging people to take the shuttle up from Kuching instead of driving up. Security is highly tightened this year, so unauthorized cars will not be allowed to enter the SCV zone at all and it is quite a long walk in.

There are also advantages in this – it would take away parking worries, and on the return ride back to town, one would be able to bask in the memory of the day’s music in peace without having to concentrate on driving.

Police security will be set up to ensure that there will be safety and comfort for all festival goers.

Wristbands will be strapped to each person’s wrist when they surrender their ticket at the entrance. Do not lose or remove these tags till the day is over. This will keep you from being mistakenly led out of the festival site and missing valuable time with your friends and the bands, by the security teams.

Food and drink stalls will be plenty at the festival so food brought in from outside will not be allowed in. Arriving early will ensure enough time to get some lunch or dinner in comfort around the tranquil surroundings before the shows start. Or, as a lot of people do – spread out a picnic sheet and bring your meals to the main stage site.

The workshops are staggered over the afternoons – some starting at 2 pm and ending about 5 pm. They will be held at four locations scattered round the Village so be prepared to do a mini treasure hunt going about looking for your favourite bands. So the lighter your load, the more fun you will have.

Hard core festival fans usually have a few essentials – mats, foldable chairs, raincoat, hat, sun-block and mosquito repellant.

Once at the Village, get hold of a programme that will give you all the information as to the times and venues of the activities and shows so you can work out your itinerary. There are several workshops overlapping, so you wouldn’t want to miss anything by accident. There will be signs posted around the site and there are also friendly officials around to help.

These workshops are very informal and friendly. Some are even interactive ones so put aside all reservations and join in.

This IS the tropics and many of the activities will be outdoors. So casual cool cottons and linens and sensible footwear would be the things to have on. In past years, Rainforest World Music Festival Fashion has become an identity by itself.

If all reports are correct, there are many people (other than the musicians) flying into Kuching for the festival, so be prepared to be in a very global environment. Everyone is a new friend in the making. And once the music starts, everyone is family.

Evening concerts will start at 7.30 pm when dusk has deepened and magic lights have been switched on. Go early to try and get a good vantage point. There are 2 stages set up with a flatter area in the centre and more undulating slopes along the sides. Those who want to lie down and survey the stars and have room to spread out their picnic blankets are better off on higher ground. Stage centre and front are usually magnet points for the movers and the shakers.

Many people stake out their territories long before the shows begin. Simple respect and courtesy will ensure good feelings all around.

Each night, there will be about 6 bands performing. The programme has been structured so that it will hopefully be an aural globe trotting experience.

The evenings will start on a more spiritual note and slowly crescendo and accelerate to the last act. We, the organizers, are trying to have something for every taste. We will cover every emotional aspect so in one evening, you could go from the quietly regal TENGIR TOO of Kyrgyzstan to the dizzy gypsy fire of LES YEUX NOIRS. Do not expect any aural anchor point. That is not the RWMF formula. 

And if you need a break from the onslaught of so much music, there are handicraft stalls where you could find gay pareos or cool bandanas and souvenier T-shirts. Look out for  CD outlets where you could take memories of the bands heard at the festival home with you.

This is the Rainforest World Music Festival’s 9th year. It has grown in many ways since the first event where there were only about 300 people in the audience but the organizers are trying to keep it still intimate and protocol-free, to preserve the simple charm and the honest happy feelings that the festival seems to be known for.

Yeoh Jun-Lin
Artistic Director
Rainforest World Music Festival