What About Kuching (WAK) celebrates the arts, culture and lifestyles of the people of Kuching by creating a platform to share the abundant talent in Kuching, and throughout Sarawak.
The event was developed by numerous communities in Kuching City through their own initiative, coming together to state their respective content under a common festival umbrella called ‘About Kuching – Celebrate Arts, Culture and Lifestyle’.
The festival usually starts from the end of September and ends on October 29th.
What to expect
During this month long festival, local collaborators from all walks of life come together to share their passion and love through events which are related to arts, culture and lifestyles of Kuching.
Below are some photos which are related to the festival.
Where is the festival?
The festival doesn’t exactly have a fixed ground but the heart of festival will be along the Kuching Waterfront.
Nonetheless, other locations also do get involve for as long as they are within Kuching.
Prominent destinations for the festival events are Kuching Waterfront, The Old Court House, The Waterfront Hotel and Pullman Hotel.
Over the years, the event has expanded to even feature locations in Pending, and Damai.
Participating in the festival
There are three ways to be part of the What About Kuching festival.
The first is to be a collaborator. This means you will be part of the organizing committee in which you will need to propose your event to the organizers for consideration. Do take note of the last date to submit your proposal as late proposals may be rejected.
From my experience, the organizers will help in securing venues for your proposed event and they will give you a free hand when it comes to handling your event.
The second way to participate is to be a volunteer. Volunteers work directly under the organizing committee and help up during events. You can apply to be a volunteer at the WAK Website. I am not sure of the perks, but experience in organizing an event is guaranteed.
If the other two methods don’t suit your schedule, the this will. You come as a guest to the events. All of WAK events are open to the public.
Grab details of the event you are keen to join, show up during the event day. The finalized list of the events are usually released a month before the event begins.
Events at What About Kuching
As previously mentioned, there’s a huge variety of events during What About Kuching . Over the years, events linked to social media such as Tether Kuching (TetherKCH) had also made its way into the festival.
Usually events do make a return every October, but some do drop out as most of these events are organized by NGOs.
Prominent events include food safaris, dances, deejay showcase and classes, craft making, bazaars and so on.
That said, the event list does change form year to year, so it would be important to look out for the unveiling of the events which usually happen a month before the whole event starts. I usually do a preview (or guide) of WAK if I do have time, which you can see in the previous editions of WAK listing below.
WAK ticket prices
Ticket prices vary from event during the festival. Some events do not charge and are free entry. Others charge a minimum door fee.
Previous editions of WAK
The festival began in 2017, and it has grown over the years. The dates as well of the preview each edition can be read below. The highlighted edition of the event is the current one.
WAK was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
More information
If you need more information in regards to the festival or anything related, you can check out any of the links below.
