KUCHING, June 9: Music enthusiasts have the opportunity to enjoy this year’s Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) for free in the comfort of one’s home as the festival will be held virtually from June 18 to 20.
Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) in a press statement said the registration for RWMF is open from today onwards and the three-day virtual experience will be free of charge.
This year, a virtual experience featuring a retrospective of past RWMF performances and new pre-recorded sessions with homegrown acts will be shown on RWMF’s official site rwmf.net from 6pm to 7.30pm every day from June 18 to 20.
Sarawakian talents Alena Murang, Kemada, Sang Rawi, At Adau, Tuku Kame, Suk Binie’, Nading Rhapsody and Mathew Ngau will be lighting up the screens in between flashbacks of favourite musical acts from previous years, along with interviews with RWMF’s forerunners and personalities and giveaway sessions.
“With Covid-19 hampering world travel, it’s important for us to remember the iconic RWMF during the pandemic,” said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
“RWMF 2021 attempts to recreate a virtual experience for those who are missing the excitement and merriment of our annual RWMF and build up their anticipation for RWMF 2022.
“I believe that RWMF 2021’s theme – Entranced, Liberated, Immersed – captures the spirit of the RWMF as a whole, and we look forward to being able to hold it in a big way for RWMF 2022 which is tentatively scheduled for June 17-19,” he said.
In the meantime, viewers at home who have missed the annual musical event can relive the feel of the RWMF with a choice of musical acts, workshops, and even food delivery via GrabFood available on rwmf.net.
They can watch daytime workshops and performances from previous years on the workshop page, whereas they can also watch from virtual Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) longhouses, much like the physical festival.
STB said viewers can order and dine in at their own leisure or order exclusive and limited edition merchandise like a T-shirt or cloth face mask to mark the RWMF’s first-ever virtual experience through Grabfood and Shopee, RWMF’s official delivery and e-commerce partners.
In the meantime, participants are encouraged to register to be eligible for the giveaways to be held during the online streaming, where participants can win free tickets to RWMF 2022, discounts to select hotels, RWMF merchandise and much more.
“To qualify for a goodie bag, participants will have to like the official RWMF page; post a photo or video of themselves at previous RWMFs or watching the virtual experience; include #rwmf2021virtual or tag the RWMF official Facebook page and share the post in their own Facebook page.
“The viewer to watch the RWMF virtual experience throughout all three days will have to answer questions related to RWMF 2021 to win the Grand Prize of RWMF 2022 tickets, RWMF 2021 merchandise, and hotel stays among others,” STB said.
For more information on RWMF2021, log on to its official website at rwmf.net. — DayakDaily
