Bengawan Solo Fair opens today

SEMARANG, Central Java: Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri is slated to open the 17-day Bengawan Solo Fair at Surakarta palace on Friday.

Organizing committee chairman Suyanto said here on Thursday that this year's opening ceremony of the annual cultural fair will be highlighted by a dance performance of 100 traditional dancers accompanied by 50 players of traditional lesung musical instruments.

"The presence of vice president Megawati will help boost the event as part of our national agenda for tourism," he added.

Megawati is also scheduled to open on Friday the Danar Hadi's Antique Batik Museum on Jl. Slamet Riyadi and to perform prayer at the Wustho mosque.

The event will feature an exhibition, a seminar and cultural performances from across the country. There will also be a discount fair featuring products from 250 entrepreneurs in the province.

"A wide range of handicraft products will be displayed at the Sala Palace exhibition hall, while export oriented home industry products will be shown at Mangkunegaran Palace and electronics at the Wisata Graha building," Suyanto said.

During the 1998 fair there were some Rp 600 million worth of transactions while last year the figure almost tripled to Rp 1.6 billion.

"We have high hopes that this year's figure will be higher," Suyanto said.(har/lup)