Samarahan Food & Cultural Festival set to become annual tourism fixture after attracting 300k visitors in debut year

The Samarahan Food & Cultural Festival is set to return as an annual event after attracting about 300,000 visitors during its inaugural edition last year.

By Amanda L

KUCHING, June 15: The Samarahan Food & Cultural Festival (SFCF) is set to further cement its place in Sarawak’s annual tourism calendar following a successful debut last year that drew about 300,000 visitors and prompted organisers to make it a yearly event.

Scheduled to take place from June 26 to July 5 at the Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) Market site in Desa Ilmu, the second edition of the festival is expected to attract 350,000 visitors and generate more than RM500,000 in sales.

Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the festival was introduced to showcase Sarawak’s diverse food heritage while highlighting the State’s rich cultural traditions and ethnic diversity.

He noted that the encouraging response to the inaugural edition in 2025 demonstrated the growing appeal of food and cultural tourism as a driver of local economic activity and community engagement.

“The success of SFCF 2025 has encouraged the Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) to make the festival an annual event.

“Besides stimulating the local economy, it also helps develop food tourism products and strengthen unity through cultural exchange and the diversity of food,” he said during a press conference of the event today.

Last year’s festival held from Nov 21 to 29 recorded approximately 300,000 visitors and generated total sales of RM406,448 from food stalls, beverage vendors, barbecue operators and food trucks.

For this year’s edition, organisers are targeting more than RM500,000 in sales, supported by a wider range of food vendors, entrepreneurs and community participants.

The festival will feature 40 halal food stalls, six beverage stalls, six barbecue lots, five corporate booths and 10 entrepreneur lots under MySED, alongside participation from government agencies.

Among the highlights are the Ratu Kebaya and Ratu Cilik Kebaya competitions, Battle of Buskers, Samarahan Idol, cultural contests and performances by local artistes including Ukays, Winnie, Faris Malek and Nurhijrah.

The programme will also include a night run, e-sports tournament, street soccer competition, traditional archery tournament, silat performances, cooking competition, carrom tournament, open pineapple festival, slingshot competition, colouring contest and an autoshow.

Abdul Karim said SFCF serves as a platform to promote local food products, support small and medium entrepreneurs, and raise awareness of the importance of preserving Sarawak’s cultural and gastronomic heritage for future generations.

“I believe the festival will further strengthen Kota Samarahan’s position as a tourism destination while contributing to Sarawak’s broader efforts to expand culture- and gastronomy-based tourism offerings,” he said. — DayakDaily