KOTA KINABALU, 16 April 2008: While the Sabah Fest 2008 performance nights will be a presentation of Sabah’s inheritance of song and dance, the Sabah Fest Exhibition also held on the 3rd and 4th is set to feature Sabah’s ethnic recipes, craft creations and traditional therapies.

More than twenty booths, comprising craft stalls, traditional food, spas and batik retailers will be at the Magellan Grand Ballroom from 10.00am to 10.00pm to enrich the Sabah Fest 2008 experience. This exhibition is open to the members of the public and visitors for free.

Visitors will be exposed to the art of the locals, as craft stalls, each manned by the Kadazandusun, Murut, Brunei Malays, Rungus, Bajau, Iranun, Sea Bajau and Lundayeh communities, will be displaying and selling crafts unique to each of those cultures. They will be also showing the skillful techniques employed to produce some of these crafts which have been handed down to them through the generations. Batik retailers will also be promoting the valued traditional fabric along with a demo in batik making.

Another highlight of the 2-day special is the food exhibition, exclusively featuring local cuisines like the hinava, sinagol and local cakes or ‘kuih-muih’. Visitors will also be able to sample other locally produced products like Nabalu Honey, Sabah Chocolate Sabah Tea and Tenom Coffee.

In addition to craft, food and fashion, spas such as Puri Ayu Beauty Centre and the Neobayu Spa will be offering treatments such as body scrubs, traditional body massages and will feature a traditional post-natal treatment for mothers.

These exhibitions are a part of the grand Sabah Fest 2008, which will run for four days this year, with a grand launching on 3rd May by Sabah’s Head of State, Tuan Yang Terutama Yang Di Pertua Negeri, Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Ahmadshah bin Abdullah, followed by another night of traditional music and dance on 4th May. Festivities will continue at the Sabah Museum’s Heritage Village on the 5th and 6th of May where ethnic groups will give a thrilling insight to their unique traditional rituals.

This event is brought to the public by the Sabah Tourism Board and is organized by Sri Pelancongan Sabah Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sabah Tourism Board. For more information, please call Susan Shahira or Melissa Leong of Sri Pelancongan Sabah Sdn. Bhd. (Tel: 088 – 232121). Tickets for the cultural shows from 3rdth May are sold at RM30.00. Tickets for viewing the traditional houses and activities at Sabah Museum’s Heritage Village are priced at RM10.00. For ticket bookings please contact Jane Lai at 088-232121 or Shirley Teo at 088-212121. All tickets can also be purchased at Sabah Tourism Board and Sri Pelancongan Sabah tourist information counters.