Tag - Tourism

TAMPARULI: Sabah Cultural Board chairman Datuk Seri Wences Angang yesterday launched the four-day Sabah Food and Ethnic Handicraft Carnival at Tun Hamdan Hall here.

The carnival which will end on May 25 is aimed at building up, promoting and preserving the cultures of Sabah.

“This year, we are combining the two programmes, which were held separately for the past few years, namely, the Traditional Food Festival and the Handicraft Fest, in this carnival to introduce the uniqueness of our food and handicraft to local and foreign tourists.

“As we all know, Sabah has about 35 ethnic groups with their variety of food and handicrafts. So this carnival will serve to assist all these groups to showcase what they have under one roof,” he explained.

A total of 12 ethnic groups will be participating in the carnival comprising, among others, the Dusun Lotud, Idahan, Irranun and Rungus, and various food exhibition booths have been erected in the community hall to showcase exotic foods like crocodile meat and also traditional food namely, Pinjaram, Kuih Sapit and Jala.

The programme lined up yesterday included cooking demonstration, karaoke, lucky draws, photography and cooking competitions and guessing the scent of spices.

For the second day today (May 23), there will be the eating Pinjaram, Ambuyat and Butod competition and also handicraft contest which will be open to the public.

On the third day, eating traditional food and handicraft coloring competitions will be the highlight, while on the fourth day similar contests will be held until the prize-giving ceremony at 6pm.

Present at the launch yesterday were Sabah Cultural Board director Datu Rusmadi Datu Sulai and Tuaran district officer Madiyem Layapan.

Source: Borneo Post

KOTA KINABALU: Contestants who are placed first to seventh in the 2013 State Unduk Ngadau pageant will be receiving a Star Cruises travel package for two each. Star Cruises travel service assistant vice president (Sabah operation), Edward Johann Leong said the winners will be tourism ambassadors for Star Cruises throughout the year. “Kaamatan is a major celebration in Sabah, while Unduk Ngadau is the highlight of the event. We have seen the transformation of the beauty pageant into a higher level, where the selection of our Unduk Ngadau is now focusing on beauty with brains,” he said. “There are many Unduk Ngadau winners having carved their names in the national level such as Daphne Iking and Jo-Anna Sue Henley Rampas, and we can see the quality of the women in Sabah. We want to be part of the women’s development in the state and appreciate them with what we have in our company,” Leong told a press conference recently. He said the total sponsorship from Star Cruises this year is more than RM150,000, including lucky draws for guests at the Gala Night. The first, second and third winners in the State Unduk Ngadau pageant will be receiving a 4 Days 3 Nights Super Star Virgo package for two (Singapore-Penang-Phuket-Singapore), while the fourth and fifth place winners will receive a 4 Days 3 Nights Super Libra package for two (Penang-Phuket-Krabi-Penang). The sixth place winner will be given a 3 Days 2 Nights Super Star Virgo package for two (Singapore-Redang-Singapore) with two return tickets from Kota Kinabalu. The seventh place winner will be receiving a 3 Days 2 Nights Super Star Virgo package for two (Singapore-Melaka-Singapore) with two return tickets to Singapore. 2013 State Unduk Ngadau organizing chairperson Joanna Kitingan said the organizing committee for the beauty pageant welcomes the support of Star Cruises to sponsor the traditional event, and she hoped this could continue in future. “We are thankful to the sponsorship we receive from Star Cruises, not only for the winners and lucky draws, but also the cash vouchers which will be given to the guests who bought their tables during the Gala Night. “Sponsorship is important for Unduk Ngadau as the competition is attracting more tourists to learn about our culture and traditions,” she said. Source: Borneo Post