Kuching Festival Food Fair 2026 to run July 22–Aug 16

KUCHING (March 8): The annual Kuching Festival Food Fair 2026 is set to return with a rich variety of programmes from July 22 to Aug 16, said Kuching South Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng.

He said 65 Unesco Cities of Gastronomy from the Unesco Creative Cities Network, spanning over 30 countries, are expected to visit the city for an annual event during the festival period this year.

“This will certainly add more colours to this year’s Kuching Festival Food Fair,” he said during his Facebook live session ‘Shall WEE Talk’ on Saturday.

Wee noted that July 22 was picked as the opening of this year’s festival chiefly to mark the Sarawak Day celebration. Consequentially, the festival period will be two days longer than usual.

He invited interested stall operators to submit their applications starting March 9, noting that the deadline is set for 4pm on March 17.

The mayor explained that this year’s stalls are divided into hub stalls, single stalls and premium stalls.

“Applicants are expected to submit their forms, along with a photocopy of their MyKad, business licence or registry document issued by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).

“They must also provide information and good photos of the delicacies they sell,” he said.

In light of the additional two days for this year’s festival, Wee said stall charges had been reviewed accordingly.

Hub stalls are priced at RM700 each, while single stalls and premium stalls are set at RM1,400 and RM3,900 respectively. A refundable deposit of RM300 is imposed.

“We welcome creative individuals and food operators to offer their specialties for this year’s Kuching Festival Food Fair.

“If the food is too common or too many operators are offering the same kind of delicacy, we will opt for a draw to decide who should get the stall,” Wee pointed out.

He encouraged food traders to showcase their culinary skills to make this year’s festival even more attractive.

He said they could consider reinventing local food or introducing a mix of Sarawak and international delicacies to surprise patrons.

“We look forward to seeing overwhelming responses from our local food operators, who should regard the Kuching Festival Food Fair as a platform to offer and promote their creative gastronomy,” he added.