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Magelang holds the first Bamboo Lighting Festival
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Hundreds of Javanese-dressed royal aides march bare-foot to climb the Mount Merapi during the Labuhan ceremony. (The Jakarta Post/Tarko Sudiarno)
T
he first Bamboo Lighting Festival that was held at Ketep Pass Magelang, Central Java on Oct. 20 – 22 was a huge success, as it managed to gather 5,432 visitors coming from Magelang, Semarang, Salatiga, Solo, Yogyakarta, Samarinda and other cities.
Ketep pass is located on the slope of Mount Merapi, 1,200 meters above sea level.
“I’m curious about this event [to see] bamboos that are made into lamps with different designs. It’s really cool,” said one visitor named Fatah who lived in Samarinda and came to the festival with his wife and children.
The festival also featured traditional performances from a number of tourist villages in Magelang regency, Bamboo Lighting exhibition, Gunungan, Tosan Aji (historical ceremonial knife) and music performances.
The first night of the festival had musician Uyau Moris performing on the stage. He performed using sape (Dayak tribe’s traditional music instrument), belting out songs such as the famed “Rayuan Pulau Kelapa”.
As the night went on, all the lights on the stage were switched off and the only light that remained came from the bamboo candles and visitors’ phones. The first day’s festivity ended at 11:00 p.m. as the committee had to prepare the venue for Tosan AJi exhibition, to be held on the next day.
The festival that was initiated by Magelang tourism, youth and sport department together with the management team of Ketep Pass and local residents is slated to become an annual event.
“We will do an evaluation to improve this event for next year, we accept any input,” said Ketep Pass promotion and marketing department head, Edward Alfian.
Tourism minister Arief Yahya gave his appreciation for the event. According to him, Yogyakarta, Solo and Semarang (Joglosemar)are the three main cities that need to be developed together with Borobudur Temple in Magelang as the main icon, “supporting events [that are held] in Joglosemar are important and always need to be promoted,” Arief said. (asw)
