Old Town comes to life in festival

JAKARTA: For Jakartans who are bored with the city’s malls, this weekend they can head down to the Kota Tua (Old Town) area.

Almost every weekend, festivals are usually held in the 1.3-square-kilometer area, where hordes of tourists also visit the museums or perfect their photography skills.

Last weekend, the Old City Management kicked off a festival called “Gebyar Taman Fatahillah” to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Fatahillah Museum.

The festival, which runs through Dec. 12, will include shadow puppet (wayang) play performances in the nearby shadow puppet museum. There will also be numerous workshops on shadow play.

Between Nov. 20 and 27, the organizers are staging a trip around Old Town billed as the Kampung Tua Visit. An art festival is slated for Nov. 27 and a play on the city’s history will take place on the closing day, Dec. 12.

Rachmat Aditya, who has been a regular visitor to Old Town since he relocated to Jakarta one year ago, said what drew him to the area where the museums. — JP