PENANG’s first-ever coffee festival (Penang Coffee Festival 2019) had its curtain brought down today after indulging coffee lovers with its variety of flavoursome coffee.
The three week long festival (Sept 20 – October 13) served as a great platform for the local coffee makers to showcase their products while tapping on their creativity to come up with delicious coffee concoctions.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who attended the closing ceremony of the festival at the Cheah Kongsi, said Penang has all the necessary ingredients in becoming a society that is progressive, creative, sustainable, prosperous and empowered.
“We must allow arts and culture to be the tool to educate and contribute towards realising the state’s vision that is the Penang2030.
“It is therefore vital for the state government and the stakeholders to strategically immerse ourselves in the diversification of recreation, sports, arts and cultural facilities as well as foster an ecosystem that nurtures creative industries and niche business services.
“This statement encapsulates the efforts put up by the state Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin over the past one and half years, injecting new elements into the Penang tourism,” Chow said in his speech at the ceremony today.
Chow said that Yeoh has given a lot of input into the tourism facet of Penang in terms of art and cultural festival experiences.
“We hope that this combination of key ingredients will help us to create the niche tourism products that stand above our competitors from other states in the region.
“The inaugural Penang Coffee Festival is precisely such a vital step to celebrate the diversity of traditional and exotic coffee all around the island and mainland as well as encourage the development of the coffee industry in Penang.
“I hope the festival will grow into something that we can be proud of, although it is a small beginning. I am sure we can take it to the next level in the years to come,” added Chow.
Meanwhile, Yeoh hoped that the Penang Coffee Festival would become one of the signature events in the Penang’s tourism calendar.
“I started this festival because I wanted a common platform for local coffee related talents to step up and shine.
“This event is my inspiration to encourage the growth of coffee industry in the state as well as to promote tourism, arts, culture and heritage in the state and move forward to the vision Penang2030,” Yeoh said.
Also present were Cheah Kongsi president Datuk Peter Cheah and Penang City Eye chief editor cum coordinator of Coffee and Reading Festival Chong Lee Choo.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix & video by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi