Stroll down memory lane at carnival

0
Ellisa (third left) and Emmanuel (second right) and schoomates at SK St Joseph Miri viewing the exhibition on Miri.

Ellisa (third left) and Emmanuel (second right) and schoomates at SK St Joseph Miri viewing the exhibition on Miri.

MIRI: Hundreds of people continue to throng Pustaka Negeri (state library) Sarawak to participate and patronize in the activities held during the 3rd Sarawakiana Carnival 2016 which started on Friday.

Activities for the three-day carnival, which started daily from 8am, kicked off with a ‘Knowledge sharing session: Behind the Making of Sarawakiana Series – Kedayan’s Makan Tahun’, followed by an exhibition on ‘Memories of Los (Lodge) Miri’, Knowledge sharing session: ‘Share the Memories – Los Miri’ and Traditional Dance Demonstrations by the Ethnics of Sarawak’.

There were also competitions for ‘Children traditional song singing’, ‘Bermukun’ besides a Movie Marathon for kids and Ethnic traditional food cooking Demonstration sessions and launching of the ‘Say No to Plastic Bag’ Campaign 3.0 by Miri City Council (MCC).

Bermukun’ is a Sarawak Malay lively dance to metrical verses and drum beat. Eleven teams qualified for the final (last night) out of the 15 teams from Miri, Bekenu, Bintulu, Lawas Limbang, Labuan and Brunei that vie for the title of Sarawakiana Carnival’s Bermukun Competition 2016.

The carnival features food, products and services booths featuring 20 cottage industry entrepreneurs. Several telecommunication companies are also participating in the ‘Communication Networks & Us’ Sessions.

Salina (left) presenting prizes to one of the lucky draw winners.

Salina (left) presenting prizes to one of the lucky draw winners.

Today (Sunday) among the activities to be held until 5pm are Sarawak Traditional Cooking and Dish Arrangement as well as the Kedayan traditional game of Kuit.

Pustaka Negeri Sarawak Miri’s regional manager Salina Zawawi was happy with the good response from the public and encouraged more to come adding that the festival is meant for the people. Admission is free.

“This festival is part of our outreach activities and also to create awareness and promote the cultures and heritage of Sarawak.

The knowledge sharing like the Los (lodge) Miri is part of our continuous efforts to increase local content of Sarawakiana.

The sharing of knowledge is documented in pictures and video and will be available for in house use at the library by the public,” she told thesundaypost yesterday.

Meanwhile, several participants and members of the public interviewed were very pleased that the carnival was held again this year.

Jamil Bujang, executive secretary of the Miri Malay Trust Board was very happy that Pustaka gave him the opportunity to conduct the talk entitled ‘Share the Memories – Los Miri’.

“This sharing session brought back fond memories for us as families of Shell staff living in the quarters, a peaceful and harmonious community. Now that the quarters have been demolished to give way to development, we hope Pustaka Negeri Sarawak Miri will further document the talk and do more research so that it could become historical items for Miri City,” he said.

Ellisa Ee and Emmanuae Elm of SK St Joseph Miri were both of the opinion that the carnival was very informative and should be held on a yearly basis.

“Great stuff, especially the exhibition, very informative and creative way of allowing us to know the history of Miri and also to learn about ‘Bathing Club’ of Sarawak Shell, a new word for me,” said Ellisa.

Emmanuel said “this pictorial exhibition is great in attracting the attention especially us youngsters to know the history of Miri as well as its rich cultural heritage”.

The three-day carnival was organized by Pustaka Negeri Sarawak, Miri in collaboration with MCC to commemorate Miri City’s 11th Anniversary and Miri May Fest 2016.

The organisers expect some 7,000 people to turn up.

Last year’s event attracted more than 7,000 visitors from all over Sarawak and Brunei while the first one attracted some 3,000 visitors.

Among the 100 people including residents of Los Miri attending the talk.

Among the 100 people including residents of Los Miri attending the talk.

Various food and drink stalls were also set up.

Various food and drink stalls were also set up.