Denpasar festival kicks off year-end celebrations

Gloomy weather failed to prevent Denpasar residents from crowding the downtown Puputan soccer field, where the 2010 Denpasar Festival kicked off year-end celebrations.

The annual festival’s official opening took place in the evening, but various competitions and exhibits were held since the morning.

Denpasar Mayor Rai Dharmawijaya Mantra and scores of high-ranking officials, public figures and community leaders attended the opening ceremony as dark clouds hovered above the city and sent sporadic light showers. A street fashion show featuring the works of local designers in traditional endek cloth highlighted the opening ceremony.

Celebrations continued into the night as singers and local bands entertained visitors thronging the areas around Puputan, Catur Muka square and the Gajah Mada heritage area.

Nearby roads are closed throughout the four-day festival and extensive traffic jams in the surrounding vicinity during the opening ceremony was an ominous indication of what the city downtown’s traffic will be like during the next three days.

The annual event is co-organized by relevant city agencies, including tourism, trade and industry agencies, with local art communities. The festival is funded by the city administration’s annual budget.

For instance, the Denpasar Tourism Agency has allocated Rp 400 million of its Rp 800 million annual promotion budget to fund events and activities at the festival.

“This year, the Denpasar Festival will involve at least 6,900 artists, merchants and supporting officials,” event coordinator IGN Eddy Mulya said, adding that the festival theme is Bhuana Citra Kara; The Space of Esthetic Creativity.

The organizer built 270 stalls in the festival area to host participants of the traditional culinary festival, handicraft expo, photography exhibit and endek exposition.

“The Denpasar Festival is the peak of various events organized by the city throughout the year, from Serangan Festival and Lais Maseluk traditional bazaars to the Sanur Village Festival.

“The festival is a collective celebration of various creative groups and communities in the city,” he said.

Denpasar Tourism Agency head Putu Budiasa expected the annual festival to be the city’s signature cultural event. “Denpasar has a rich cultural legacy and a blooming creative industry. The Denpasar Festival will feature both, and hopefully by doing so the event will play a critical role in not only conserving the cultural legacy but also in promoting that legacy,” Budiasa said.

Denpasar Trade and Industry Agency head Wayan Gatra proudly stated that the Denpasar Festival was all about Indonesian made products.

“As many as 70 local small and medium enterprises are participating in the festival and I can assure you that their products are 100 percent Indonesian,” he stressed.