10th Kuta Karnival is Back

Tourism Minister Expected to Open Kuta Karnival in Bali October 10 – 14, 2012

(10/6/2012)

Bali Daily (The Jakarta Post) reports that theKuta Karnival will return from Wednesday, October 10th until Sunday, October 14th, 2012.

I Made Rudika, the head of the organizing committee said: “This year’s Kuta Karnival will feature a more colossal spirit. We hope that it could entertain local people and tourists visiting Kuta,” 

Last year’s staging of the event drew crowds of between 9,000 to 11,000 visitors during each day of the Kuta Karnival.

This year’s staging will see the Kuta Karnival overlap with the 10th anniversary of the 2002 Bali Bombing on October 12th commemorating the date when 202 people died and scores of others died in the bombing of two Kuta nightspots.

Among the highlights of this years festival will:

• A sunset beach parade featuring 300 legong keraton dancers.
• A music festival featuring a number of local band
• A food festival operated by area hotels and restaurants
• A kite festival
• Surfing contest
• A “Paddle for Peace” event by local surfers
• A turtle release program
• A competition among Kuta area waiters

The symbolization of this year’s Kuta Karnival will be a giant ogoh-ogoh effigy of Bhatara Baruna and Dewi Sri. Hand crafted by local artisans, these papier-mache statues will represent prosperity in the form of Dewi Sri – the goddess of rice, and the oceans via Baruna – the god of the sea.

Indonesia’s Minister for Tourism and the Creative Economy, Mari Elka Pangestu, is expected to open the Kuta Karnival.

This year’s Kuta Karnival will represent the 10th holding of the event, first launched in the aftermath of the Bali Bombing of 2002.

Rudika said he really appreciated the younger people of Kuta for continuing the work started 10 years ago to revive tourism in Bali post-bombing via the Kuta Karnival.

Source: BaliDiscovery.com