Cultural parade celebrates Surakarta's tourism potential

Hundreds of Indonesian businesspeople participated in a kirab budaya (cultural parade) in the city of Surakarta, Central Java, on Tuesday to coincide with the national leadership meeting of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin).

The cultural parade in Surakarta earlier this week featured attire from across the archipelago, including from Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara regions and Papua. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)

The parade traveled through Jl. Slamet Riyadi and the Gladag traffic circle, spanning approximately 5 kilometers. The event also introduced Surakarta as a cultural city, as well as a meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions (MICE) destination.
Starting with a line of decorative cars of unique shapes, the parade included puppets and décor of Jatayu birds and cruise ships with passengers dressed as puppet characters. House of Representatives Speaker Bambang Soesatyo, Kadin chairman Rosan Roeslani and other Kadin officials were also involved. At least 50 horse-drawn carriages carried meeting participants.
"This parade is to celebrate Surakarta's tourism potential. Almost all traditional arts and traditional attire are featured in this procession," Surakarta Kadin head Gareng Haryanto said.

Starting at 3 p.m., the parade featured costumes from across the archipelago, including from Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara regions and Papua.
The Surakarta contingent displayed a procession of traditional market traders, Solo Batik Carnival, cultural arts studios, Surakarta Palace and Mangkunegaran Temple. Reog Ponorogo art attractions, Topeng Ireng art and Balinese Leak also enlivened the carnival.
The Kadin national meeting is a three-day event that kicked-off on Monday. In addition to the cultural procession, the event was also enlivened by Batikvaganza, a batik exhibition that featured the latest batik creations from various regions.

The event also featured 57 booths of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) supported by Kadin, including a number of textile producers and large batik manufacturers such as including PT Sritex, Batik Danar Hadi, Batik Semar, Batik Riana Kesuma, Batik Mayaratna and Mustika Ratu. (JakartaPost)