Still wearing their red-and-white uniforms, dozens of elementary students enjoyed a puppet show as part of a business and cultural arts festival held in Depok, West Java this week.
The students broke into laughter and gave their applause when the dalang (puppet master), a tenth-grade student, skillfully manipulated a puppet character in a battle scene.
"It's awesome," one of the students said.
Taking place in front of Depok City Hall on Jl. Margonda Raya, the 2009 Depok Festival, which is held to celebrate the city's 10th anniversary, not only allows visitors to tour more than 100 booths, which offer various products including property, banking products, books and local handicrafts, but also attracts them to cultural and arts performances, including traditional dances, puppet shows and music shows.
"Depok is actually a rich city. It has many economic resources, a thriving arts and culture scene and many small to medium business enterprises. We hope the festival will help promote Depok," Andree, the festival's spokesman, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
The festival will run until Sunday.
Among the local products offered in the festival include, Depok's batik and various products made from star fruit, which is grown throughout the city.
Many small-scale vendors have enjoyed great business during the festival.
Yulius, who sells home-made footwear, said he had made an average of Rp 1.5 million (US$147) in daily sales during the first three days of the festival.
"Most of the customers bought my slippers for Rp 10,000. I dare not sell them lower than the market price because at such a low price, people will be buy more than one pair," the 40-year-old said, smiling.
Having paid Rp 2.5 million for renting a 3-by-3 meter booth, Yulius is optimistic he will make good profits from his stall.
With the festival opening from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., most people visit after office hours.
During the day, the festival is frequented by students and government officers, Andree said.
Rahayu, a student of SD Pancoran Mas I elementary school, said her school had organized its students in grade 5 and 6 to visit the event.
"We are here from 9 a.m.
"Our teacher told us to observe the festival and write a report about it," the sixth-grader said.
Depok, a satellite city in South Jakarta, was built by Cornelis Chastelein, an officer from the former Dutch company, Vereenigde Oost indische Compagnie (VOC).
It was believed that before his death, Chastelein wrote in his will that all slaves in Depok should be set free and be given a plot of land.
In 1871, the Dutch government allowed Depok to form its own government.
In 1982, Depok became an administrative city and in 1999, it was officially declared a city.
Currently, the 200-square-kilometer city, located in the south of Jakarta, has six districts.
Depok is home to the country's biggest university - the University of Indonesia has a campus located in the city - and has a population of more than 1.4 million. (hwa)
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