KUCHING: The 30th Irau Aco Lun Bawang or Lun Bawang Festival will be held from this 1 until 3 June at Lawas Town Square.
Themed “Adat Tau Etu Tau” (National Cultural Our Heritage), the festival will be the largest gathering of the Lun Bawang community ever to be held here in Sarawak.
Speaking at the press conference at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar in Jalan Simpang Tiga here yesterday was Director of Ministry of Tourism and Culture Suriya Charles Buas.
“We want to create a record in the Malaysia Book of Records for the highest number of participants in Bamboo Band performance during the festival.
“The opening and closing ceremonies are expected to be graced by Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.
“In fact, Minister of Tourism and Culture Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz will attend the first day of the festival,” he revealed.
He said, the festival also receives full cooperation from Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) Sarawak branch.
According to him, since it inception, the festival has attracted countless number of visitors to Lawas and just last year alone it managed to pull more than 20,000 festival goers into the town.
“Therefore, I welcome the public around Limbang and Lawas to enliven our 30th Lun Bawang Festival,” he said.
Irau Aco Lun Bawang is essentially a showcase of Lun Bawang culture and heritage through traditional music and dance as well as handicrafts and traditional Lun Bawang cuisine.
There will also be sporting events, traditional games, beauty pageant and many others during the festival.
Originally, Irau Aco Lun Bawang was held to celebrate a bountiful rice harvest at the end of the harvesting season.
Today, the festivity continues although modern twists have been introduced to make it even more interesting.
Also present at the press conference was Chairman of the Lun Bawang Association Ipoi Datan.
For further information, contact Daniel Punang of Sarawak Lun Bawang Association at 019-8899029.
