Denpasar Festival 2016: Bali's Joyous New Year Celebrations
Saying farewell to 2016 and Welcome to the New Year of 2017, the city of Denpasar – capital of Bali Province will come alive with a whole array of festivities when the Denpasar Festival 2016 gets underway from 28th to 31st December 2016, centered at the Catur Muka Area at Jalan Gajah Mada, right at the heart of the city.
Presented by Denpasar’s Tourism Office, with the full support from the Ministry of Tourism, the festival will feature exciting activities including an exhibition, a parade, art and cultural performances, fashion show, games and competitions, culinary bazaar, and a whole lot more. The art and cultural show will be highlighted with traditional, contemporary, as well as modern performances, while the fashion show will showcase a number of Indonesia’s finest fabric products such as songket, Bali''s own endek cloths, traditional embroideries, and more.
“Moreover, there will be a Great Sale at the shops along jalan Gajah Mada Area, so it will be really exciting,” said Mayor of Denpasar, I.B Dharmawijaya Mantra.
Initially called Gajah Mada Town Festival or GMTF, the event has been held annually since 2008 at the Gajah Mada area. The Gajah Mada area was chosen as center of the festival since it reflects the unique characteristics of the city as a multicultural and multiethnic community. Starting from 2009, the festival was transformed to the Denpasar Festival up to this day.
The festival is targeted to attract over 50,000 tourists consisting 80% of domestic tourists and 20% international tourists. Aside from attracting more tourists to the city as well as the island of Bali, the festival is also aimed to showcase culture-based creations and innovations in the city, preserving traditional art and culture, as well as being a media for the many communities in the city to express themselves creatively.
