Festival delights Jakartans

Triwik Kurniasari ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 09/07/2008 9:46 AM  |  Headlines

Jakartans, young and old alike, thronged to Lapangan Banteng in Central Jakarta on Saturday afternoon, where around 120 food stalls greeted them as part of a two-week Ramadan festival.

At the festival, held by the Central Jakarta administration, Jakartans can sample various snacks and treats for breaking the fast, including kolak (a sweet compote made of cassava and banana in coconut milk), iced fruit drinks, coconut water, kebabs and rib soup -- all the while enjoying their meal outdoors, at one of the many tables set up for the occasion.

The festival will also offer lives performances, including marawis (religious percussion groups) and gambang kromong (Betawi traditional music) on a stage in the festival site's center.

Browsing and shopping are at hand, with various stalls offering clothes, accessories, plants and pets -- for those looking to pass the time while ngabuburit or waiting for the fast to be broken.

Dyah, 43, took her husband and son to the festival to find snacks for breaking the fast.

"It's great that we can break the fast outdoors like this. There are a lot of stalls here offering a variety of things," said Dyah, who lives in nearby Senen.

"My son really enjoys browsing the pet stalls. Look, I just bought him some colorful kelomang (hermit crabs). He really loves them," she said, showing the four kelomang inside a glass cage.

Another visitor, Yunita, a resident of Central Jakarta's Pasar Baru, welcomed the event.

"My mother and I just want to pass some time before breaking the fast. We enjoy browsing through the plant stalls because we like plants," said Yunita, who was also on the lookout for snacks to break the fast.

"It would be great if the administration held a festival like this every year. It's a nice place to hang out with family or friends during Ramadan," she said.

The festival, which began Sept. 3 and ends Sept. 21, is the first such event held by the Central Jakarta administration.

Theresia Gayatri, an event executive, said the goal of the festival was to provide low-cost goods to Jakartans during the month of Ramadan.

"A festival like this is very rare in the city. We not only offer various stalls, but also conduct Islamic competitions, like marawis, nasyid (religious a capella) and calligraphy for students across the capital," Theresia added.

She expected more than 500,000 Jakartans to visit the festival, which is open daily, from 4 to 10 p.m.

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