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As usual, the format of the festival will be in two parts – the outdoor evening shows and the more informal workshops during the three afternoons. The term “Workshop” is almost not quite enough to describe the many different activities and programme planned by the organizers. Over 90 musicians who are coming in from all over the world will be participating and/ or leading these workshops. There will be miniature lecture-recitals on the history and culture of the Buryat and Mongolian communities, the rise of the Algerian rai as a popular idiom, musical dialects of Thailand as well as a look into the intricate movements of Thai dance, community music from the lost cities of the Belize jungles, Sarawak music and arts, bullerengue traditions and more. Interactive dance workshops are also usually quite popular with the audience – there will be some on gypsy dances, Malay and Iban dances and African Malinke dances. From so many different instruments that will be coming through the airport conveyor belt of Kuching airport, the organizers will also be presenting different families of instruments in specific workshops – for example, plucked strings, lutes, bowed strings, xylophones and wind instruments. Percussion workshops are usually also overflowing with people eager to see high energy levels and perspiration steaming in hot tropical weather. This year, there will be a rojak mix of every possible percussion musician present in “Skin, Metal and Wood”. There will also be one on African drums, Celtic rhythms and an interactive one on Malay rebanas. There will also be a mini fashion demonstration on the different tribal costumes of Sarawak. All these workshops will be housed in 3 or 4 locations around the SarawakCultural Village – the Auditorium, the Iabn Longhouse, Dewan Lagenda and under the Melanau House. When the festival first started, there were about 10 – 20 people at each workshop. While the informality and spontaneity of the workshops have been maintained, the attendance last year at these fun-filled mini concerts swelled to a record high. So the organizers this year have taken steps to make sure that there will be ample room for all. The workshops start at 2 pm every afternoon over the 3 day weekend. Schedules will be in the programmes given out at the festival. It will also be an opportunity to get into friendly distance with the musicians – most of whom will not be used to the hot weather, but nonetheless, throw themselves into the whole spirit of things. Due to very enthusiastic responses to the past few festivals, the organizers have decided to control the number of tickets sold for each night of the 8th, 9th and 10th of July – a weekend that will usually see all the hotels at Santubong bursting at the seams with festival people. As usual, there will be bus shuttles to and from Kuching to help traffic congestion up in Santubong. Check the local dailies for schedules and stops or look up the website www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com for more information.
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