Sabah International Folklore Festival


The Sabah International Folklore Festival (SIFF) 2016 will be taking place from at the Sabah Cultural Complex in Penampang which is about 20 minutes from Kota Kinabalu 24-30 July 2016City. 

The cultural complex is also known locally as the JKKN Building (Jabatan Kebudayaan dan Kesenian Negara) that houses traditional structures of the ethnic Sabahan people.

Sabah International Folklore Festival

This also marks the 11th year of the Sabah International Folklore Festival and a total of 11 countries will be taking part in this unique event and festival and the theme for this year is 'Peach Through Culture'. This also promotes the East-West cultures through the event held here in Sabah. 

An opening and welcome dinner will be held from 8.00 pm to 10.00 pm on the 25th July at the Sabah Cultural Centre Penampang where it will be graced by the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister - Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun among the participants and guests.

The team from Sabah performing at the last event
Local ethnic warriors dancing
The team from Kazakhstan in Sabah
Team Philippines at last years event
Sabah Traditional Food and Handicraft Exhibition

A Sabah Traditional Food and Handicraft Exhibition will also take place during this event to showcase the many unique food and craft found from the various ethnic people of Sabah, Malaysia Borneo. These two events will also be held at the Sabah Cultural Complex Penampang. 

The countries taking part for the 11th Sabah International Folklore Festival are;
  • Malaysia
  • South Korea
  • Estonia
  • Australia
  • Ireland
  • Indonesia
  • India
  • The Philippines
  • Republic Sakha Yakutia, Russia
  • Sri Lanka
  • Thailand

2015 Winners - Russia
Last years winner for Sabah International Folklore Festival 2015;
1st Place - Russia 
2nd Place - The Philippines
3rd Place - Slovakia

KK City International Folklore Parade

A special KK City International Folklore Parade will take place at three venues across Kota Kinabalu City on 26th July from 12.00 noon to 5.00 pm.

The parade will be flagged off by the Sabah State Cultural Board Chairman - Datuk Seri Panglima Wences Angang at Wisma Budaya around noon. The three places for the parade are;
  1. Wisma Budaya - 12.00 noon
  2. Lintasan Seasoka, Gaya Street - 2.00 pm
  3. Kota Kinabalu City Hall - 3.00 to 5.00 pm

Sabah International Folklore Festival Itinerary (Click to enlarge)
Sabah International Folklore Festival 2016 Program (Click to enlarge)
Sabah Folk Art Exhibition 2016

In conjunction with the Sabah International Folklore Festival 2016, the Sabah Art Gallery under the Cultural Board itself will organise the 6th Folk Art Exhibition at the Sabah Art Gallery in Kota Kinabalu. 

This is highly recommended for anyone who is into art or especially folk art as there will be some unique displays here. The Sabah Folk Art Exhibition will also take place from the 25 - 30 July and is free entry.

Photography Contest in Sabah
Sabah Photography Contest 2016
There will be a Sabah photography contest in conjunction with the folklore festival where cash prizes are to be won for individual themes held throughout the festival.


Each of the themes is a category from the even and they are;
  • International Folk Dance Competition
  • KK City International Folklore Parade
  • Sabah Traditional Food and Handicraft Exhibition
  • Pocket Show
  • Prime Show

The Photo Contest Prizes;
  • 1st Prize : RM 1,500.00
  • 2nd Prize : RM 1,000.00
  • 3rd Prize : RM 700.00
  • Consolation Prize x 10 : RM 300.00

This is open to everyone and for additional or more information for the photography contest in Sabah, please contact:

Rinah Linggom at +6 088 254 958 or +6 019 8400 178

Folklore Festival Malaysia Sabah
The official poster
Tickets for the Sabah International Folklore Festival 2016
For the entire three days, tickets will be sold for each individual day and for the dance competition and priced at;
  • Kids/Students: RM 10.00 (17 years below)
  • Adults: RM 30.00
A special ticket package is also available for the dance competition during the entire event;
  • Kids: RM 30.00
  • Adults: RM 80.00
Free Entrance for the SIFF Folklore Parade, Folk Art Festival and exhibitions. 

You can buy tickets at the various places below;
  • Wisma Budaya, Lembaga Kebudayaan Negeri Sabah (+6 088 268836 / 268808)
  • Pusat Kebudayaan Sabah Penampang (+6 088 715464)
  • Pusat Konservasi Balai Seni Lukis Sabah (+6 088 268748 / 268825)

Map to the Sabah Cultural Centre in Kota Kinabalu
How to go to the Sabah Cultural Complex/JKKN in Penampang

As the Sabah Cultural Complex is located in the district of Penampang and about 15-20 minutes from Kota Kinabalu City, the best way to get here is by taking a taxi from the city centre.

To get back to the city, you should get the taxi driver's number and call him to pick you up. Alternatively, you can also use Uber in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

For those self-driving, the JKKN building is located along Jalan Penampang, just before the Rainforest Park (Taman Rimba Tropika) and by the Sabah National Library.

The road that leads into the JKKN is Jalan Tasik, after the park. GPS Coords are 5.956876, 116.077184.

A dance performed during the last festival
For additional information, you can contact;

Encik Jason Blasius
Tel: +6 088 269862 / 258762
H/P: +6 013 8501579

SIFF Office
Tel: +6 088 268460 
H/P: +6 011 1206 1209
Email: siffborneo@gmail.com
Website: http://siffborneo.wix.com/borneosiff
Official: http://www.sabah.gov.my/lks/v2/index.php?q=siff-main

This event is organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah, Malaysia.

Conclusion

For anyone visiting Kota Kinabalu or Sabah at the end of July, this would be an interesting event and festival to attend and witness, especially if you want to learn about the Sabah culture and ethnic people.

And as a bonus, you will also be exposed to the many other countries cultures, all here in one place for the Sabah International Folklore Festival.

Malaysia Asia

Blogging since 2007, but writing online since 1997. I belong to the 1st generation of worldwide bloggers, which is of course old-school. Since 2008, I created Malaysia Asia and this travel, flood, gadget and lifestyle blog has won numerous physical awards from tourism boards around Malaysia. (Not those online awards). After 12 years of blogging, I have semi-retired and now blog about things I like, do product reviews and enjoy life. My work has been featured in Lonely Planet, CNN Travel, Yahoo Travel, Wall Street Journal, and many other international publications. Find out more about me and thank you.

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