Bringing hobby to the public

HobbyCon (short for ‘Hobby Convention’) stem from the web-based forum known as ClickStartPlay.com, a community website based in Sabah that gathers hobbyists from around the state to share their favourite past-time activities with one another. The members, lead by the founders Mr. Hanafi Light and Mr. Lim Tzyy Shyong, came up with the idea of holding an event to enlighten the public about the hobbies that Sabahan youngsters are into. The idea then turned into a serious discussion, which then turned into a community effort. Finally, in December 2007, the first HobbyCon (dubbed HobbyCon 2007) was organized. The event was so successful, the organizers decided to turn it into a yearly event. The rest was history.

Welcome to HobbyCon 2008

HobbyCon 2008 is quite possibly the largest (and only) hobby convention in Kota Kinabalu, and perhaps all of Sabah. There were boardgames, cardgames and computer games on display, figurines at 1/6 scales and a maid cafe, where waitresses attired in Victorian maid costume served the visitors with homemade cakes and cookies.

One particular booth had a team of artist that sketched portraits for visitors. They also produce their own comic book titled The Da Dinci Code – A Party Parody, made especially for (and only available on) HobbyCon 2008.

There were also competitions held during the two day event. One of them was Magic: The Gathering cardgame tournament which was held on both days. A second one (and arguably the most attention-grabbing) was the competition for the ‘Best Cosplayer Award’, held on the second day. More than a dozen cosplay participants were involved, displaying their costumes inspired from video games, animes and mangas.

Cosplay Winners List

• 5th Place: Kenny cosplayed as Ichigo from the anime Bleach.
• 4th Place: Cheryl Lo cosplayed as Al Azif from the anime Demonbane.
• 3rd Place: Fara cosplayed as Death the Kid from the anime Soul Eater.
• 2nd Place: Melody Fung cosplayed as Rokudo Mukuro from the anime Katekyo Hitman Reborn.
• 1st Place: Kelvin Kok cosplayed as Reno from the hit video game Final Fantasy 7.

Hobby makes the world go round

HobbyCon 2008 is the biggest and the most successful event ever organized by ClickStartPlay.com so far. It’s fun, it’s entertaining and it’s informative on the ever-changing social lifestyles of Sabahans both young and the young at heart. We hope to see HobbyCon to grow even bigger and better next year. See you in HobbyCon 2009!

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In the fourth and final part of our coverage of the World Harvest Festival 2008, we have the Miss Fair & Lovely 2008 Ethnic Beauty Pageant, where 14 young and beautiful contestants vie for the honour of being chosen as the fairest of them all in this year’s World Harvest Festival.

All 14 contestants

their special performances before the result announce

Ms. Siti Rokiah Abdul Majed, Miss Congeniality 2008

Ms. Pearlycia Brooke, Miss SMS Voters 2008 and Miss Best Traditional Costume 2008

Ms. Fatin Syahira Yusuf, Miss Beauty Photogenic 2008

Ms. Ramdaniza Hasbi, 2nd Runner-up

Ms. Cassandra Daniel Manja, 1st Runner-up

Ms. Pearlycia Brooke, Miss Fair & Lovely 2008

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• Sarawak Cultural Village (2)

The World Harvest Festival 2008 was held at the Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong, Sarawak on the 24th and 25th of May. Lifeinborneo.com took this opportunity to cover the two day annual Borneo cultural event which featured ethnic music and costumes, locally made products such as food and handicrafts, an Ethnic Beauty Pageant and a spectacular theme play based on a Bidayuh folklore.

In the third part of our coverage of the World Harvest Festival 2008, we have a theme play based on a 500 year old Bidayuh legend, titled Panglima Kulow. The show was played out at the Sarawak Cultural Village’s lake at night, with an army of casts and a display of impressive special effects worthy of a movie.

Once Upon A Time, In The Land of the Hornbills…

The theme play for World Harvest Festival 2008 was titled Panglima Kulow – The Saviour of Bung Bratak. Several generations ago in Sarawak, Panglima Kulow was the leader of the Bidayuh village of Bung Bratak, which have prospered peacefully for generations. He guided his people in time of prosperity, in times of hardship, and in times of rebuilding and renewal. This theme play retold that epic story, using Disney-like special effects and dozens of actors and actresses to play out the tale in front of live spectators.

Lights Off. Silence Please.

As any show would do, the theme play started with the telling of the origin of Panglima Kulow’s tale. But what caught our attention was HOW they start off the show.

Before they began the theme play, they turned off the lights. The entirety of Sarawak Cultural Village was covered in total darkness. Only the whispers of the audience and the creaking chatter of insects could be heard.

Blind as a mole and with only the staffers’ flashlights to illuminate the walk path, we made our way to the guest seatings while imagining how they were going to perform this theme play. As we reached our destination, we discovered that the seating was positioned directly overlooking the lake. It was at that moment that a realization set upon us: they were going to use the lake and its surrounding as their stage.

A Legend Re-enacted

Seven fireballs flew down from the night sky like meteorites, each one trailing after another, and splashed down into the lake in front of an audience of hundreds. A spotlight then moved to highlight the rooftop of one of the longhouses by the lake, where seven dancers were dancing in a graceful and hypnotic motion.

That was how the show’s introduction went off – it gripped the audience’s attention right from the start.

Watching the theme play was like hearing those mystical stories your grandparents used to tell you about, only that it was actually happening right before your waking eyes. Suffice to say, we have never seen anything like it before (in person at least). The amount of special effects that went into this production must have been immense; without those visual effects, the theme play would not have been as jaw-dropping or as memorable.

And they lived happily ever after

The essence of the story, I believe, was unity. Panglima Kulow held his people together in times of hardship throught the unity of his people. Towards the end of the theme play, he united two communities together through the marriage of his son and the daughter of the other tribe. Like the bedtime stories our grandparents used to tell us, the tale of Panglima Kulow’s mystical pull was that it combined entertainment with storytelling in the most surreal way. And like those bedtime stories, there’s always that moral-of-the-story at the conclusion of the tale, and in Panglima Kulow, the point of it was unity. Take out all those visual effects, all those colourful props, and you’ll find a story that teaches you the virtue of living in harmony.

Entertainment, art, culture, teaching – all creatively woven into a brilliant theme play.

Up next, the most unique ethnic beauty pageant…

Stay tuned to lifeinborneo.com as we bring you the final part of our coverage of World Harvest Festival 2008, where we have the Miss Fair & Lovely Ethnic Beauty Pageant.

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In the second part of our coverage of the World Harvest Festival 2008, we have stage performances from the participants of the International Cultural Concert. The show was held inside the Dewan Lagenda located within the Sarawak Cultural Village on the 24th and 25th of May.

Minstrels of Culture and Tradition

This year, the World Harvest Festival brought in guest cultural performers from Pahang, Indonesia and Senegal to enlighten the audience with their own brand of uniqueness to Santubong. They also invited 22-year old Erhu virtuoso from Perak, Ell Zain Hyder Zainuddin (also more famously known as Endang) who enthralled the audience with her soulful play. Although we didn’t managed to catch the Senegalese group in action, we were more than ecstatic to have seen the performances of the other groups.

Bah Bola, from Pahang

From Pahang there was Bah Bola, an indigenous cultural group consisting of members of the Semai (whom are natives of Pahang) and have performed throughout many events in Malaysia. Palm leaves, intricately handcrafted and integrated into their costumes, were obviously central to their unique cultural performance along with musical instruments fashioned out of bamboos. But it was their lead singer that won the hearts of the crowd with his rapid recitation of the word “Bola!”.

Sanggar Tari Bengkawan, from Kalimantan, Indonesia

Hailing from Kalimantan, Indonesia, the Sanggar Tari Bengkawan cultural group showcased traditional dance and music of ethnic Kalimantan people. This was their second time performing for World Harvest Festival. One of the dance piece the group performed was about the rivalry of two princesses; one was of good heart, while the other was wicked. The dance was a show of beauty and motion, in which the dancers were storytellers retelling a folk tale in a poetic ballet.

Endang, from Malaysia

Far from her humble beginnings in Perak, she has since performed on many international arenas such as China, Barcelona, Paris, Singapore and throughout Malaysia. Now Ell Zain Hyder Zainuddin or Endang may add another internationally renowned location to her list of visits. She is an Erhu virtuoso, a Chinese musical instrument of classical charm which, when played perfectly, exudes a hypnotic sound like the calling of an angelic maiden of the orient. Endang played the magic of the Erhu so well it befitted the listening ears of emperors and kings – and the audience definitely felt as such.

Sarawak Cultural Village Dancers

And not to forget, Sarawak Cultural Village’s very own dance troupe, which performed an array of ethnic dance and music such as the Iban Ngajat and the Joget.

The Dance and Music plays on…

Stay tuned to lifeinborneo.com as we bring you Part 3 of our coverage of World Harvest Festival 2008, where we have the theme play based on a Bidayuh folklore, titled Panglima Kulow.

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• World Harvest Festival 2008 – Part 1 (0)
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The World Harvest Festival 2008 was held at the Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong, Sarawak on the 24th and 25th of May. Lifeinborneo.com took this opportunity to cover the two day annual Borneo cultural event which featured ethnic music and costumes, locally made products such as food and handicrafts, an Ethnic Beauty Pageant and a spectacular theme play based on a Bidayuh folklore.

A Cultural Event Extravaganza

There were a line-up of events for visitors to see during the two day cultural extravaganza, and Lifeinborneo.com managed to cover what we considered as highlights of the festival:

International Cultural Concert

An international concert featuring cultural groups from around the region. This year they brought in Bahbola from Pahang (a cultural group consisting of Pahang natives, the Semai) and Sanggar Bengkawan Cultural Group from Kalimantan, Indonesia. World Harvest Festival also invited 22-year old Erhu virtuoso Ell Zain Hyder Zainuddin from Perak who enthralled the audience with her soulful play. She is also more famously known as Endang.

Theme Play – Panglima Kulow

Based on a Bidayuh folklore five centuries old, this theme play tells the epic of Panglima Kulow and how he guided his people in times of prosperity, hardship and rebuilding. The play was performed at the Sarawak Cultural Village’s lake at night, with a cast of dozens and a display of amazing special effects.

Ethnic Beauty Pageant Grand Finals – Miss Fair & Lovely WHF 2008

The grand finals for the Miss Fair & Lovely WHF 2008 was held on the first night of the festival. 14 young and beautiful contestants made it through to the finals, but only one will don the queen’s tiara. Introduced 10 years ago, Miss Fair & Lovely is different from other ethnic beauty pageant in that it is open to all single ladies regardless of race. The brand name Fair & Lovely has been sponsoring this event since 1998.

More to come

Stay tuned to lifeinborneo.com as we will bring you more coverage of the events at the World Harvest Festival 2008!

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• Sarawak World Harvest Festival 2008 – Part 3: Panglima Kulow Theme Play (6)
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• Sarawak Cultural Village (2)

Catch the show featuring renowned Malaysian artistes like Syafinaz Selamat, Kogee and Linda Nanuwil to name a few during the evening concert and don’t forget to visit the exhibition booths for a chance to sample Sabah’s ethnic recipes!

Event Programmes
Date : 31 May 2008
Time: 07:30am – 17:00pm
Exhibitions, Cooking Demo, Drawings and Games

20:00pm – 22:30pm:
Grand launching of the Tadau Kaamatan National Open House 2008

Further Information
Organiser : Ministry of National Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage
Venue : Padang Merdeka, Kota Kinabalu
Contact Person : Ariah Judah
Telephone : +603 – 26127600 / 26974080
Fax : +603 – 26918461
Email Contact : ariah@heritage.gov.my

source: www.sabahtourism.com

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Date : 26 – 27 April 2008
Organiser : Sabah Cultural Board
Contact Person : Azrul Junilus
Telephone : +6088 268 884/879/863/818
Fax : +6088 265 235

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