Clowns from the world over are coming!

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COMING TO TOWN: A clown performing on stage.

KUCHING: Clowns from all over the world will be marching this way at the end of this month to participate in the World Clown Association  convention.

City folk may see them juggling outside Merdeka Palace Hotel, riding unicycles, or walking on stilts all over the city.

Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB) said in a press statement yesterday that members of the association would be ‘coming from far and wide’.

“While there will be a solid representation from Malaysia, as well as Indonesia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, there will also be clowns from the United States, New Caledonia, New Zealand, India, Canada, and England.”

World Clown Association, based in the United States, has members from all over the world. They typically hold their annual convention outside North America about once every four years.

“They decided to do something really special for their 30th anniversary convention and decided on Borneo for this monumental occasion,” said SBC.

Some of the clowns are called ‘caring clowns’, for their work at hospitals, while others are stage performers, circus clowns, or parade clowns.

Some enjoy entertaining children at parties or at schools while others love religious environments, such as churches.

During their five-day convention here, starting on Feb 25, they will dedicate one entire day to spreading cheer to local residents.

Since Feb 27 will be ‘Sarawak Smiles Day’, the clowns will be spreading smiles as they leave their host hotel, Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites, and travel to 12 different places to do charity work.

On that special day, they plan to visit the Sarawak General Hospital, Normah Medical Specialist Centre, KPJ Hospital Kuching and the Timberland Medical Centre in the morning.

In the afternoon, they will perform at the Sarawak Cheshire Home, Pibakat, Dyslexia Center, PKAYNS, Hills Shopping Mall, Boulevard Shopping Mall, and Salvation Army Boy’s Home and Children’s Home.

For those who miss these appearances, they will be at Merdeka Plaza on March 1 from 2pm to 4.30pm.