Hundreds of foreigners attend Surabaya folk art festival

The Surabaya Cross Culture International Folk Art Festival opened on Sunday with hundreds of participants from across the country and abroad, tempo.co has reported.

The opening day saw the participation of countries such as Uzbekistan, Russia, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Germany, Poland and Romania. They all performed their traditional dances in front of spectators on the streets. Local performances, from cities such as Singkawang and Banjarmasin, were also featured.

Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini and Singkawang Mayor Tjhai Chui Mei both praised the event, which will run until July 19.

“This shows that Surabaya is safe and, in the future, many more participants can take part in it,” Risma said.

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“One day, we [Singkawang] will also conduct an event like this,” said Tjhai Chui.

The festival, which promotes culture through dance and music, will also feature an arts and culture workshop, a city tour and visits to historical sites.

This is not the only large-scale event scheduled to take place in Surabaya this year, with events such as the United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) summit and the Start-Up Nation Summit to be held in September and November respectively. Both of the events will invite more than 100 countries. (anm/kes)