A stage stood facing the road leading to the lake, giving audience members a view of the lake as they watched pencak silat performances.

To the left and right of the stage were amusement park rides, including a merry-go-round and trampoline for children.

Across the stage, a food bazaar offered a variety of products, from traditional Betawi dishes dodol Betawi (sticky candy) and nasi uduk (coconut rice dish) to bir pletok (herbs and spices beverage). Some stalls sold traditional Betawi attire, such as peci (cap) and pangsi (pants).

“We have reached the peak of the event,” the festival’s organizing committee head, Mahrul, said in his speech.

He said the amusement park and the bazaar had been operating there since Oct. 25 as part of the lead-up to the festival. The attractions drew in 2,000 to 3,000 visitors every day, increasing to up to 5,000 on the weekends.

“The festival is aimed at introducing more people to the lake, which has so much potential as a tourist destination in Jakarta. Despite the lack of facilities, the lake has beautiful views,” Mahrul said.

Thousands of trees surround the 8.4-hectare lake, as does a jogging track, popular as a hangout spot among locals in the afternoon.

North Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency head Rus Suharto said the city prepared a master plan to further develop the lake.

Cincin Lake is located in the same district as Jakarta International Stadium, aka BMW Stadium, and the Sunter intermediate treatment facility (ITF Sunter).

The master plan, according to Rus, combined three facilities to create one large destination where people can enjoy the nature of the lake, exercise or play sports in the stadium, and learn about waste-to-energy treatment at ITF Sunter.

“Cincin Lake can be seen from a nearby [elevated] toll road. I believe if we do something to improve the lake and make it look pretty from afar, more people will be interested in visiting it,” he told The Jakarta Post, referring to a toll road that connects Tanjung Priok and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

In the master plan, Rus claimed, the city planned to collaborate with locals by encouraging them to engage in more activities in the area, whether by selling food and handcrafted souvenirs or regularly staging music or traditional arts performances.

Papanggo resident and lakeside food seller Tini said she was happy with the event, which was the first of its kind. She and her husband have been doing business at the lake for 14 years.

“I’ve never seen a crowd this large here,” she said with excitement while preparing a bowl of her soto tangkar (beef soup).

The Sundanese woman said she looked forward to any kind of improvement to the lake, wishing that it would attract more visitors, thereby boosting sales.

“But I also hope the development doesn’t evict us from our location. Instead, we hope the city will build a nicer space for us to continue doing our business here,” the 43-year-old said.

North Jakarta is home to other lakes and reservoirs, including Lake Sunter, Yos Sudarso Reservoir and Pluit Reservoir.

Lake Sunter was the talk of town in February 2018 when then-Jakarta deputy governor Sandiaga Uno and fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti competed in a race to cross it.

The competition, held to launch the Lake Sunter Festival, saw Susi use a paddleboat to outrace Sandiaga, who swam across the lake. During the event, Susi called on the city administration to clean all lakes and reservoirs and allow residents to visit such places for free.

Also on Saturday, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan inaugurated the construction of Masjid Apung, a floating mosque located at Ria Beach at Ancol Dreamland Park.

“We hope that Masjid Apung can be an icon for all mosques in Indonesia; not only today, but for more decades to come,” Anies said during the groundbreaking ceremony.

He called on city-owned property developer PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol to make sure construction was on schedule so that people could start using the mosque by the end of next year.

The 2,000-square-meter mosque will be able to accommodate 2,500 people.

The mosque will be shaped like a pentagon to represent the five pillars of Islam and five daily prayer times, stand 25 meters tall to symbolize the 25 Islamic prophets mentioned by name in the Quran, and feature six minarets to symbolize the six principles of Islamic faith.

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