Annual Tamparuli Bamboo Festival on Nov 24-25

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s popular annual bamboo music festival will return to Tuaran’s Tamparuli district on Nov 24 and 25 with a bamboo orchestra performance by SMK Tenghilan, last year’s Malaysia Book of Records’ holder.

Event co-organiser, Stanley Missun said the festival, now in its ninth year, had been renamed Bamboo Arts Festival to celebrate bamboo arts, crafts and music as part of the Malaysia Year of Festivals 2015 (MyFEST).

“This festival’s objective is to further develop bamboo as a tourism cultural item, particularly in promoting the use of bamboo at a higher level.

“We hope to attract many visitors from other parts of the country this year,” he said at a press conference, here, yesterday.

On the first day of the festival, SMK Tenghilan, Tamparuli and five other schools will each perform a 30-minute bamboo orchestra music at various times in different venues.

About 40 students of SMK Tenghilan performed bamboo orchestra music non-stop for 48 hours and 30 minutes from Nov 24 to Nov 26 at last year’s festival.

Their feat gained them entry into the Malaysia Book of Records as the longest non-stop bamboo orchestra music performance.

On Nov 25, bamboo house building, craft making and blowpipe competitions along with the festival’s annual trademark telematch, “Tayakan”, will be held.

The event’s highlight is a special performance by the Taiwanese Yuanlin art dance group at the Bambusia Gala Nite on the last day, with the proceeds from ticket sales going to the Bamboo Music Orchestra Association Kinabalu (OMBAK).

The festival is organised by OMBAK and supported by Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, Sabah Tourism Board and Sri Pelancongan Sabah.

Some 5,000 visitors are expected at the festival. - Bernama