BY NEVILLE TIMOTHY SANDERS & ANNABELL NAJA TOMMY
KUCHING: For the first time in two years, the Kuching Festival Food Fair is back, with the event taking place from July 29 to Aug 21 at the Community Hall, Jalan Padungan here.
Kuching City South Council (MBKS) mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng said that with Sarawak having transitioned to the endemic phase and the opening of international borders, it was time to look into the economic side of Kuching.
“We don’t want to see people suffering. Many of them lost their jobs. And what we are trying to do now is, we are organising this festival to let those vendors have a chance to make some income, and of course for the Kuching people, we feel that we are slowly adapting towards the new normal,” he said at a press conference at MBKS on Monday (May 9).
He added that a lot of precautions would be taken, and he hoped visitors continue to wear face masks.
“That being said, we are going to do deliveries, and some drive-thru for pickups. These are our initials on the best way we are going to do it.”
He said the rental fee remained the same just like previous years – RM3,000 for premium stalls, RM1,100 for single stalls, RM550 for half stalls and free of charge for Chinese home cook delicacy corner (year 2019).
“The theme for this year’s festival will be Kuching’s Best Creative Food and Culture.”
Wee also mentioned the tender was out for those who want to participate and the closing date would be May 24 and form could be obtained through https://forms.gle/Bz8M5mtuuRUH18Ba7 or the applicant could bring the necessary documents and visit counter No. 8 or 9 at the One-Stop Service Centre.
“We would like to appeal to the public, please come out with your proposal, so that we will be able to do the selection after the closing of this quotation of tender.”
He also would like more creative food presentation, through the culture, ingredients and others.
“I do not want to see the same food present in different types of stalls. If there are 250 stalls, then there should be 250 different types of food being sold.
“At the moment, we are targeting 250 stalls, whether it is single stall or half stall. In case there are more, we’ll see how we are going to accommodate them.”
Meanwhile, organising chairman Goh Tze Hui said they would be concentrating on the food and its presentation.
“Due to the pandemic, and even the endemic, there will be no trade fairs and kiddie rides. This is because we’re afraid people would squeeze in. So this year, we’ll get rid of those two but there still will be garden shows and stage performances.”
He also said that dine-in would be allowed but there would be standard operating procedures provided during the event to ensure safety.
Also present at the press conference was MBKS deputy mayor Hilmy Othman and councillor Kho Teck Wan.
