KUCHING: What About Kuching (WAK) is back for its second year scheduled to begin 29 September to 28 October 2018.
The WAK Sunset Mixer 2018 was officially launched by the Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah at The Waterfront Hotel here on Wednesday.
Speaking during the launching event, Karim said, “All of you here this evening are bringing your talent and energy to this event in your own inspiring and uniquely Sarawakian way.
“I am personally very interested to hear your plans and pitches for what is proving to be one of the most diverse festivals in our event calendar.”
After the inaugural WAK in 2017, the event was a success with tremendous support from the community with minimal funding.
“This year, with some additional funding from the Ministry, WAK 2018 will be even better than before,” added Karim.
He also said that 20 groups have submitted their event proposals and gauging from the turnout, he felt that WAK 2018 may even surpass the impressive 76 events held last year.
“With the success of WAK, we could expand it to other cities in the State and provide the creative minds there with similar opportunities.
“It will be great to have “What About Sibu”, “What About Miri” and others to be part of the State’s event calendar someday,” he suggested.
Karim also urged organisers to work on developing and putting the required ‘Operating Procedures’ fully in place from WAK so that it could be replicated elsewhere.
He hoped that the public would come out in full force for WAK 2018 as various fascinating events would be held throughout July, and become part of this ongoing and incredibly stimulating creative conversation about Kuching.
Also present at the launching event were Assistant Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Assistant Minister for Youth and Sports, Datuk Snowdan Lawan, Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Hii Chang Kee and Festival Director, Donald Tan.
From 29 September to 28 October 2018, various talents will showcase their best efforts to the community and visitors in various genres of the Arts, Culture & Lifestyle with WAK 2018 providing the opportunities and platforms for the various creative communities to connect with the public, and for the public to appreciate the outstanding level of creativity that is here in Kuching.
Members of the public who wish to have their event featured in WAK 2018 may submit their proposals through the website at https://aboutkuching.com/. Deadline for event proposals is July 30, 2018.
