Longest arts and music festival

Longest arts and music festival to be held at Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim

The 71-year-old Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim will come alive with culture, arts and music performances as the Johor Baru Arts Festival kicks off at the end of the month.

Festival director Suzie Yap said the three-week long arts festival, which begins on June 29 will be the longest art festival in the country.

“The festival covers all disciplines of performing arts including theatre, drama, modern and cultural dances, and local bands,” she told a press conference here recently.

She said the arts festival would take off with a performance by the Australian Boys Choir accompanied by the Hwa Chong Institution String Quartet at Wong Shee Fun Memorial Hall, Wisma Tiong Hua.

“This will be the only performance outside the grounds of the iconic Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim, as all other performances will take place on the main stage,” she said.

She said that throughout the event there would be entertaining performances including from local rock band, Amelia.

“We will also be showing a historical play entitled Bumi Berlantai Permata, which tells of the birth of modern Johor, the bejewelled state,” she said.

She added that other performances included a special Wushu and dance performance, Farewell My Concubine, which would be performed by the Lee Wushu Arts Theatre.

There will also be the Rock Unite Indie Spirit concert featuring local indie bands, Deserters, John’s Mistress and Mystery Call, along with five other independent local bands, said Yap.

Johor Tourism Department director Jabar Tahir said the arts festival was one of the events that would be able to lure in tourists, especially from Singapore.

“We hope to attract music and performing arts fans from all over the country to come and watch the shows,” he said, adding that he hoped at least 6,000 tourists would visit the state for the event.

Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, who is also the events advisor, said the Bangunan Sultan Ibrahim was selected as the venue this year as it was an icon of historical Johor.

“Our state is rich in heritage and tradition and the building will lend a stunning backdrop to the event,” he said.

He said the arts festival was a good platform to showcase Malaysian culture and arts.

“We hope to get more states involved in cultural performances for future arts festivals,” he said.

For tickets and details, call 019-716 9900 or 019-713 9900.

-News courtesy of The Star-