Fashion and food festival a mix of everything

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Sunday is the final day of the 2004 Jakarta Fashion and Food Festival at Kelapa Gading Permai residential area, North Jakarta, and it offers a wide array of events, from fashion shows to traditional dance, food from a variety of regions and even a talk show about cancer.

The five-day festival, as its name suggests, features fashion and food as its main attractions.

"The nontraditional part of the event is the fashion and the traditional part the food," committee chairman Ng Kui Lai told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

A one-meter-high stage with white backdrop occupies most of the main atrium of Kelapa Gading Mall. Row after row of green and orange chairs stand ready for visitors to gaze at models, including six international ones, parading clothes ranging from casual to bridal wear.

"I just love to see bridal shows," said Neneng, 28, one of the visitors who came especially for the fashion shows.

Ng said that the main stage had attracted many participants. "Even a TV station from Malaysia has broadcast live three of our one-hour shows," he said.

The festival did not ignore ethnic costume, either. Thirteen stalls, selling mostly batik and embroidered clothes, were positioned around a smaller stage that was ready for traditional acts, including Betawi (indigenous Jakartan) and Balinese dance, as well as batik and shadow puppet painting.

"Maybe we've put on a few too many events," said Ng. "We were not sure about the public response because this is the first time we've staged such a festival."

When the Post arrived at the small stage at 2 p.m., the show had not started yet, although the schedule indicated there should be batik painting and wood carving. Ten minutes later an a capella group entertained the audience, followed by a person in a puppet character giving away products from one of the sponsors.

Visitors who wanted to see Betawi dance, supposedly at 3 p.m., were kept waiting until 4 p.m. for a show that lasted little more than 10 minutes.

Nevertheless, the festival managed to attract visitors. "It is not usually this crowded on Saturdays," said Dewi, a frequent visitor to the mall. She claimed to have heard about the event but did not go especially to see it.

"But the food is just the regular stuff," said the 32-year-old mother, pointing to the upper floor where the food court is located. Little did she know that the food festival was held at Gading Batavia, one street away from Kelapa Gading Mall.

Twenty-eight temporary stalls are offering traditional food from 15 provinces until May 30. The numerous restaurants in the complex are also putting on an "eat and win" promo until June 30, where customers can get merchandise after spending a specified amount of money.

The mall has already staged a model search, photograph competition and designer competition for the last two months. The awards ceremony will be held at the close on Sunday.