text: Cultural Since 2005, Borneo Cultural Festival (BCF) is held by Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) in July every year at Sibu Town Square, for a period of 10 days. It is a celebration of traditional music, dances, contests, beauty pageant, food stalls, fun fairs, and product exhibitions. There are 3 separate stages for Iban, Chinese, and Malay performances. It draws around 20,000 people every year. BCF was stopped briefly in 2011 before it was resumed in 2012. Sibu has hosted the National Chinese Cultural Festival (全國華人文化節) twice: in 2001 (18th Festival) and 2009 (26th Festival) which lasted for 3 days. Among the activities organised during this festival were cultural village (a venue designated to showcase cultural heritages from various ethnicity), lantern riddles, cultural dances, Chinese songs, dragon dances, and Chinese calligraphy. Sibu International Dance Festival (SIDF) was started in 2012. It is usually held between June and September every year, which lasted for 5 days. It attracted around 14 to 18 international dance troupes for performances in Sibu. It includes activities such as workshops, conferences, outdoor performances, and a dance concert.
  There are 9 Bawang Assan Iban longhouses which are 40 minutes away from the town of Sibu. The longhouses can be dated back from 18th century traditional longhouses to present day modern longhouses. Visitors can enjoy traditional rice wine tuak and other delicacies such as sarang semut, kain kebat, and pansuh. These Iban longhouses showcase their lifestyles, customs, traditional dance, and music. Homestays are also available at these longhouses. There are 3 ceramic factories in Sibu. Ceramic designs mainly depicts traditional culture of the natives.