Crowds of people were at the festival from around 2pm till late at night. The festival ended at midnight each day. Photos: FLOREY D. MIKIL/The Star

May kicked off to a great start with the three-day-long Rain Rave Water Music Festival 2026 in Kuala Lumpur.

Also held in celebration of Labour Day, the festival – a tourism activation under the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign – had a great turnout, beginning from the first day on April 30.

Among the thousands of attendees who made repeated visits to the festival was Shahmer Sulaiman, 32, from Selangor. The “good mix of culture and entertainment” was what kept him coming, he says.

“Besides the lively music, the traditional performances were just as spectacular,” he adds.

The music theme works well for the event, says Shamer, as it connects people. “Music draws people in and this creates a good opportunity to introduce Malaysia’s rich culture.”

Shahmer says the festival has a good mix of culture and entertainment. — SHAHMER SULAIMAN

The sentiment is echoed by vendors who had the opportunity to highlight their cultural culinary at the festival. Ruseleh Atun, 57, a Sabahan currently residing in KL, says she appreciates the opportunity to showcase traditional food from her home state to an urban crowd.

Another vendor, Siti Sarah Afrijon, 33, is similarly appreciative. She is happy to highlight her variety of masak lemak dishes, a traditional Malay fare, especially to younger generations. But in terms of the venue, the Selangor resident expresses some concerns.

“I worry about bringing my kids here, because it’s so crowded,” she says. She hopes to see the event held in a venue better suited for families next year.

A scan of the crowds on the second day of the event showed that there were families visiting the cultural sections of the festival. But understandably, only a few entered the packed concert area with their small children in tow.

When it comes to older children bringing their parents to the festival, however, this was no big matter. Some even willingly drove from other states just for this, like Teiyos Go, 31, from Johor.

Posts on social media about the event’s first day were what intrigued Go. “The event looked interesting,” he says. “I decided to take my parents to experience it with me, so we drove from Johor to check it out.”

Some visitors even came from beyond national borders. Singaporean Nicholas Tan, 35, says it was “... refreshing to see people of different backgrounds, ethnicities and nationalities coming together”.

He thinks that the event was a success despite the criticism circulating online. “Events like this have the potential to put Malaysia on the map as a fun and vibrant destination,” says Tan.

For Lourens Ruigrok, 36, and his wife Lavinia, 33, the revelry reminded them of home. In the Netherlands where they are from, the King’s birthday is celebrated with much fanfare, Ruigrok says.

The couple has been living in KL for about a year now, but this is their first encounter with such festivity in the city.

“It’s really nice to see,” says Lavinia. “I think the concept of involving rain and music can be very freeing for people.”

Fitting the festival’s name, it did rain heavily on Friday evening, putting parts of the event on a short pause. But the fun continued without a hitch.

Feena (in orange raincoat) wants to have fun dancing in the rain.

In fact, this was exactly what one attendee, a 35-year-old KL resident who wants to be known only as “Feena”, says why she wanted to come – “To dance in the rain!”

The festival line-up proves to be a big draw as well, attracting fans of Joe Flizzow, Dolla, De Fam and more.

Feena wanted to see international DJs Wujackers live.

Also from KL, 25-year-old twin sisters Yeoll and Dee, who declined to reveal their full names, wanted to see the same DJs. Yeoll says they also hope for more of such festival in the future.

Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Chiew Choon Man and Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry deputy secretary-general Chua Choon Hwa made an appearance at the concert venue around 9pm on Friday, joining in the fun of blasting water into the crowd.