Jogja Expo Sekaten kicked off

Jogja Expo Sekaten kicked off

YOGYAKARTA: Jogja Expo Sekaten (JES) 2004, which was previously
called the Sekaten Night Market, was officially opened on Friday
by Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono X of the Yogyakarta
Palace.

Held for 40 days annually ahead of the ceremony to observe the
birthday of Prophet Mohammad, to fall on May 2, the expo is held
in the palace's Alun-Alun Utara (north square), occupying some
4,000 square meters of land.

Unlike in the past, the Yogyakarta administration has involved
the private sector to professionally manage the event. It invited
Surabaya-based event organizer PT Citra Pamerindo, expecting that
the night market would attract more tourists and business people
to Yogyakarta.

"We are asked to make Sekaten not just a nationally but also
internationally recognized event," Citra Pamerindo's president
director Taufik Ismail said, adding that some 400 business groups
and individuals were taking part in the expo.

Friday night's opening ceremony was embellished with a
cultural carnival and various traditional performances including
a theatrical performance Repertoar Bangsaku (my country's
repertoire) by Tratag Budaya Estetik. --JP