In Sanur, giant red-and-white flags stood tall in front of several houses, dwarfing many of the smaller ones in the neighborhood.
In Renon, a group of school children raced to finish eating crackers dangling off a clothesline with their hands tied behind their backs while adults cheered and laughed.
The mood was visibly festive on the streets of Denpasar on Sunday as communities, big and small, got together to commemorate the country's 63rd anniversary of Independence Day.
"We just want to remember that today was the day we actually became free," said Yeti Ade Ermawati, the 19-year-old committee chief of Independence Day celebrations in Kirana 6 at the military housing complex on Jl. Sudirman.
"It's a once a year moment, so we want to have events like this to remind the others of our past heroes who struggled for our independence," Yeti said.
Next to Yeti, six women danced to a catchy dangdut tune, their faces filled with anticipation as they contemplated which of five remaining chairs they would run to when the music stopped.
The music suddenly stopped, the women all scattered with the exception of one.
"I'm done! I just want to dance, anyway," said one woman, walking back to the audience, throwing her hands up in laughter.
Yeti expected celebrations in her neighborhood to last until morning with planned activities including catching crickets, traditional pole climbing and later, performances by amateur bands.
"We'll have dance competitions, we'll have dangdut, we'll have prizes, we want this to last until four in the morning," she said.
Closer to the town's center, in Puputan Badung field, a bigger celebration was being planned as workers erected a massive stage.
A group of elderly gentlemen sat playing chess on a nearby bench, occasionally glancing stage-wards as sound engineers prepared for the evening's performances.
One of them, Abdul Gaffur, 36, from Singaraja, said he would return to his hometown Monday to celebrate Independence Day with his extended family.
"The festivities in Denpasar, such as the concert here, can be a bit too cosmopolitan.
"If you want to catch a real festival, go to Singaraja, which is the oldest town on the island," he said.
Abdul said Independence Day this year was more about the installment of governor-elect Made Mangku Pastika, who would officially become governor on Aug. 28.
Pastika is also a native of Singaraja.
"I really hope that under his leadership, Bali will continue to be a safe place," said Abdul.
"Tourism is our backbone and we need to make sure the tourists who come here are safe. I don't want to see other countries issue travel warnings against visiting Bali anymore."
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