The Lun Bawang Festival which is held annually in conjunction with the Gawai celebration has once again been successfully concluded on June 3 – 4, 2016 in Lawas, Sarawak. This year marks the 29th year of the Festival and has gathered more than 23,000 visitors which ran at several location in Lawas including Gaya Baru, Long Tuma, Long Sebangang Baru, Tang Itong and Taman Awam Lawas.
The centre of attraction was held along the Lawas Damit Road where sporting activities such as futsal, volleyball, badminton and road run was held while the opening ceremony and main stage cultural performances was held in Lawas town.
The highlight of the Festival is the annual search for Ruran Ulung and Padan Liu Burung, the beauty pageant and warrior contest. This year saw 40 delegates competing for the prizes worth more than RM15,000.
Angela Maria Frank, who is a physical education and science teacher from Gaya Baru representing Lawas Damit and Octavien Pagag who recently graduated with Business Management studies, from Puneng Berayong representing Kuala Lumpur, were crowned the Ruran Ulung and Padan Liu Burung categories, respectively.
The annual bamboo band competition was also held which saw the bamboo band from Long Tuma as the winner. Second place went to the Long Sukang bamboo band while third place was Trusan Tengah bamboo band.
The 29th Lun Bawang Festival was held by the Lun Bawang Association Sarawak and supported by the Sarawak government. Main sponsors include Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, Ministry Tourism Sarawak, Museum Sarawak, Cahaya Mata Sarawak, Sarawak Energy Berhad and etc.
