Fascinatingly Alluring "Sanur"

"Sanur Village Festival 2009 reinforces the image of Bali as a safe tourist destination for all visitors." Minister of Tourism and Culture Jero Wacik, in his remarks at the official opening of the annual event.

The swarm of kites came in different shapes, sizes and hues toss, turn and twist in the sky – blue, clean and clear – to take part in an international competition above Mertasari Beach, Sanur, Bali, creating a fascinating scene to spectators.

On the same beach installation art works stand tall, unmistakable proof that Indonesian contemporary artists are no less impressive than their foreign counterparts in terms of creativity and imagination.

Several meters away eight models – attractive, slender and looking fresh – had just finished their task and strut towards the back of the stage. They gave way to yoga dancers who are set to demonstrate their agility with Indian music in the background.

All that is only the tip of the five-day Sanur Village Festival (SVF August 12-16), an annual celebration of the art and culture, sports "and other activities" in an area covering four hectares.

Several huge attractive white-colored tents encircle the stage to help visitors enjoy a food festival that tantalizes their taste buds.

No program item seemed to have been overlooked by the organizers in order to make SVF an unforgettable event to visitors.

From quadrathon, golf tournament (prizes: two cars and Rp 100 million in cash), fishing and kite competitions, art expo to jazz and pop music performances, fashion show, food festival and photo and cartoon competition and mass yoga (with over 2000 participants)—all that were on hand with a high level of turnout, including five countries, namely China, India, Iran, Japan and Turkey.

"Marine Life is the theme for this year's festival as it reflects the cultural identity and daily lives of Sanur's community," says the chairman of the festival, IB Sidharta Putra.
"Marine Life is also in line with our "Visit Indonesia Year 2009" national campaign that promotes marine, cruise dan MICE."

SVF 2009 is the fourth held since 2006 and is a now already a fixture in Sanur Village's annual tourism program. Previous years saw around 20,000 visitors and participants from several foreign countries enjoy the professionally-prepared event.

"The occupancy rate of hotels and villas in Sanur hit the 80 percent mark, with most visitors coming from Europe and have been here before several times," says Fredina Rebecca, a consultant with TravelWorks, a Sanur-based marketing communications firm.

"They are not affected at all by last month's recent bombings in Jakarta."

The organizers predict that 50,000 people would have visted orang, a nearly 300 percent rise over the past years.

"It is amazing that a village like Sanur could organize a world-class festival," says Joop Ave, the former minister of tourism, post and telecommunication, in his remarks prior to the official opening of SVF by Minister of Tourism and Culture Jero Wacik.

As usual, Joop spoke also in English (and laced it with tasteful humor) to make sure his message gets across to foreign visitors who flocked to the local culture-driven opening night.
In a tribute to former ministers who had dealt with Indonesia's tourism in the past, the organizers invited Abdul Latief, Marzuki Usman and I Gde Ardhika as guests of honor.

The star of the event's first night was harpist Maya Hasan, who showed up with her group and presented eight of her latest compositions—the dexterity of her fingers was only matched by her physical beauty.

The ensuing evenings saw the Balinese world-class guitar virtuoso Balawan and premier Jakarta-based pianist Dwiki Darmawan on stage, fulfilling the pledge of the organizers to turn SVF into a high-caliber n art feast.

But SVF was not merely about celebration. In a nod to today's norm, which is virtually unbridled freedom of expression, the organizers gave six artists grouped under Linkar Bali the chance to present their concerns over the adverse effect of unchecked tourism development in Sanur.

Their concern is manifested in their art installation works and are practical input not only for tourism industry players in Bali but also elsewhere within the entire country.

SVF was organized by the Sanur Development Foundation, which was set up in 1966 as a forum of ideas from all quarters to promote Sanur's social and business life.

"The Sanur Village Festival was designed to make you relax and enjoy the beach. The world will be able to enjoy exotic Indonsia and the warmth of our hospitality," says Rosari Soendjoto, the PR oficer of SVF 2009.

"Make sure that you do not pass this moment and include it in your future holiday plans."
In view of what had taken place for five days at Mertasari Beach last month, it is almost certain that Rosari's hope would become a reality.