Sleepy Village, Alive!
Come join the third annual Sanur festivities this month, which embodies a green and environmental theme this year.
The Sanur Village Festival (SVF) started off as a fun cultural event, held from August 25-27 of 2006 at the cottages area of the Inna Grand Bali Beach and Segara Beach in Sanur. The SVF was kicked off by the Yayasan Pembangunan Sanur in an effort to rehabilitate the image of Sanur as one of the primary tourism destinations in Bali. Various creative and fun-filled activities were combined into a three-day event presenting arts, culture, sports and many other activities. As expected, the festival also successfully shaped a foundation for the local community.
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The Sanur Open Golf tournament also usually takes place within the Sanur Village Festival's agenda. |
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A mass yoga was held last year on the Sanur beachfront with a large number of participants and yoga gurus from all over Bali. |
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The festivities resurfaced the following year, promising to becoming an annually anticipated highlight on the island's cultural and tourism calendar. The second SVF occurred from August 15-19 in 2007, maintaining its initial venue and carrying the theme "The New Spirit of Heritage", with a variety of cultural and artistic performances, as well as sporting and culinary events all held in a five-day fun-packed timeframe. Local and international visitors of all ages participated and enjoyed the mixture of activities that included musical and dance performances, painting and bonsai exhibitions, a jazz festival, and an official closing ceremony with an iconic colorful cultural parade.
Opening this second event was a rendering of the sacred 'Rejang Dewa' dance performance as a manifestation of the 'new spirit' theme. This dance, Puja Buana, was specifically created for the opening of SVF 2007. Also highlighting the opening was a Balinese martial arts inspired dance, Kembang Pencak.
Daily art-related events included a cartoon exhibition, displaying caricatures of activities during the SVF. Approximately 120 international and local artists were invited to participate and exhibit their paintings in a painting exhibition after first being selected by the SVF committee. The Sanur Painters Association (Himpunan Pelukis Sanur) registered 5 galleries as venues, including the Santrian Gallery, Guet Gallery, Rare Angon Gallery, 10 Art Gallery and Darga Gallery. A joint painting exhibition was also held by various Balinese artists.
A Bonsai and Adenium exhibition alongside the beach grounds displayed over a hundred tree specimens of various shapes and sizes from collectors all over Bali, with some collections on sale, and a one day demo on shaping and maintaining bonsais as well as a competition included in the agenda. The exhibition was in conjunction with preparations for an Asia Pacific competition also held that year.
Another public favorite was the classic jazz festival featuring top Balinese jazz artists including Gde Kurniawan and friends (Funk), Tropical Transit (Jazz World), Saharadja (World Jazz), Joni Agung and Double T (Reggae), Balawan & Batuan Ethnic (Fusion), Yuri and Friends, Koko Harsoe and friends, Eric and friends, and Nyanyian Dharma featuring Dewa Budjana & Trie Utami (Spiritual World Music).
As the SVF takes its roots from the Sanur community and traditions, all elements from Sanur – the community, government, workshops (sanggar), hotel, tourism industry, and government of Denpasar are involved to reflect Sanur's culture specifically and Balinese culture in general.
And this year, the third year of the festivities, SVF 2008 will soon be underway at the same cottages area of the Inna Grand Bali Beach. This year the festival wants to play its part in keeping the earth green, and for it to be a suitable place to live in for each of the world's generations, thus the color green is to dominate the scene in this year's festivities.
And 'GO GREEN' is to be no mere catchphrase at this year's festival; it is to become a proof of contribution of all those involved in it. Several events are in direct correlation to the environmental theme, such as coral reef preservation, fun biking, and many other highlights that continue in the tradition of the SVF.
Last year's fine arts festival themed 'Sanur A[r]mosphere' attracted 170 artists in 6 venues, and this year continues with a slight twist of the green theme that becomes the vision and subject matter for the participating artists.
The Chairman of the Sanur Village Festival, Mr. I.B. Sidharta Putra, stated, "We are now more equipped and more prepared to entertain everyone with the variety of shows we have coming up on the colorful agenda. This year we will still have a kite festival, an international cartoon exhibition, beach and water related activities, and great musical performances focusing on the genre of Jazz crossover. Also, for those who have witnessed and experienced our food festival last year, they will surely have been missing the delicacies that Sanur has to offer. I can't wait to see all of you back – at the one and only Sanur Village Festival."
Also not to be missed is the photo contest that will take place again this year. Photography hobbyists can forward their photos to the committee, photos that depict the beauty and uniqueness of Sanur. 10 of the best entries will then be selected based on the assessment of the judges, then later entered in the final, which will be displayed during the five days of the Sanur Village Festival. Interesting prizes have also been prepared for winners.
For those interested and wanting to know more about the photo contest, please contact Mr. Ida Bagus Putra Adnyana, or 'Pak Gustra' at (0361) 226-084, or by email at gustraphoto@yahoo.com.
Block your agenda on August 6-10, 2008 and come to the third annual Sanur Village Festival. There's so much beauty and uniqueness that you won't want to miss it!! ■ Text by Nyoman Ari Gunadi, photos by Gustra
Yayasan Pembangunan Sanur
Jl. Danau Buyan III/2 Sanur, Denpasar 80228 Bali
(0361) 286987; www.gotosanur.com
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