KUCHING, 3 Aug 2022 –- The fourth edition of What About Kuching Festival (WAK2022) will mark a new milestone, with a better-than-expected number of proposal submissions received from event organisers, and artists and performers to participate in the month-long festival.
WAK was first organised in 2017, starting afresh this year after a 2-year hiatus due to the global pandemic. The festival is endorsed and supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP).
Donald Tan, founding festival director of the WAK festival series, said: “At the close of proposal submission on 31 July, WAK2022 has received 69 proposals from 59 different collaborators covering 111 events of various genres including music, theatre, dance, arts and crafts, gastronomy, literary and culture, and not forgetting sporting events and eco-based adventure activities.
“We are very pumped up to see the amount of support we are getting, not only in terms of numbers but also the very high, world-class quality genres. We will now be closely engaging all collaborators to discuss further details and tighten the loose ends so we are all fully ready.
“We would like to extend our special thanks to MTCP and especially to its Minister YB Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah for his unwavering support towards WAK as an event that promotes culture, lifestyle and the arts of the people for the world to see and participate in.
“We are also delighted to report that WAK2022 has received great support from both Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Utara (DBKU) and Majlis Bandaraya Kuching Selatan (MBKS) and the many private sector partners such as ECHO Premier Sound & Light, TVS, Hitz FM, Cats FM, tHe Spring Mall, Food Journal Sdn. Bhd., Plaza Merdeka & Waterfront Hotel, Sara Resorts & Sara Urusharta Sdn. Bhd. and more in providing the required logistical backup to ensure a successful festival.
“Kuching will be brimming with lots of exciting events and activities throughout October and this will be the best time to visit Kuching and explore Sarawak. We will have everything for everyone and will announce the final line-up in September. We hope visitors from outside Sarawak too will find their way to Kuching this October and set a date with WAK2022.
“Especially for those who had missed out on some of Sarawak’s most iconic events earlier in the year like the Rainforest World Music Festival and Borneo Jazz Festival, WAK2022 will be your best opportunity to experience and be immersed in our rich culture and heritage, while satisfying your craving for musical, theatre and fine arts performances as we present both the old and the new. Gastronomy will be a big part of the festival too!”
WAK2022 will be happening throughout October 2022 as a community-driven festival of the arts, culture and lifestyle of the people of Kuching and Sarawak, filled with a multi-genre programme centred in the city of Kuching and radiating outwards towards greater Kuching.
WAK first started in 2017 when a team led by the founding festival directors Donald and Marina Tan instigated the numerous communities in Kuching City to come together to stage their respective contents under a common festival umbrella coined as ‘What About Kuching – Celebrate Arts, Culture & Lifestyle”, now better known as WAK, a festival ‘BY THE COMMUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY’.
Find out more about WAK2022 at www.aboutkuching.com . Follow @aboutkuching on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates on WAK2022.
