Local businesses prepare for Halloween

Local businesses prepare for Halloween

JAKARTA (JP): Halloween does make things go bump in the night
in Jakarta, but away from the capital it's still an unfamiliar
celebration to many.

"I think basically for Indonesians nowadays Halloween is more
popular because western influences are easily digested by
Indonesians -- it's cool to like the western lifestyle," said
Planet Hollywood sales and marketing manager Kiki Rizki.

She said the restaurant's children's Halloween party on
Sunday, to be held from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., would include a
"mix" of expatriate and local children.

"There are a lot of baby boomers who will bring their children
here because they know about Halloween. For our celebration on
Tuesday night, however, we expect young local people."

Halloween is often seen as a holiday to celebrate pagan rituals;
human sacrifice and midnight orgies in dark woods. In reality,
the celebration of Halloween, which started as a harvest and fire
festival among the Celts, has been co-opted by America, with its
gift for mass-producing everything from its food to its holidays.

Still, it is sometimes a hard sell.

Behind the Cira Food Court on the third floor of Plaza
Indonesia is the usually raucous Kids Club. Seated at the
entrance last Sunday was Yasmin, the coordinator, and several
assistants waiting for registrants for the "I Like Halloween
Party".

But there were no little ghosts or goblins to be seen.

"It must be because there are holidays this week," Yasmin
said.

The lack of little monsters meant the contest was canceled,
but curious parents and children continuously popped around the
corner looking for the little devils.

Yasmin said last year's costume party was a success. With 15
participants masquerading as scary characters, and over 200
people watching, the former area of the Kids Club in Sogo was
packed, she said.

Sogo is among the outlets in Jakarta that sells costumes, but
the winner of the contest was an Egyptian mummy who made his own
outfit.

"He was wrapped in bandages, and he walked just like a mummy,"
Yasmin said, adding that points were given for masqueraders who
also acted like their character.

The three judges also gave points if the costume or ideas were
unique as well as if they were scary, with winners receiving a
trophy and gift vouchers from Plaza Indonesia.

The only stipulation to enter the contest was that the child
was already a member or else they would have to apply to be one
first, Yasmin said. The Kids Club currently has 300 members.

Yasmin expected a good turnout on Sunday afternoon when
nighttime talk show host Hughes makes a guest appearance as the
storyteller of the tale Once Upon a Time There was a Jolly Ghost.
Children can act out the story afterward as well as play games,
Yasmin said.

Halloween fun

"Halloween is not Indonesian. It is American," said one young
Indonesian woman.

But when asked if she would be willing to go out to a
Halloween-themed night at a bar for some drinks and fun, she was
quick to say yes.

A young Australian executive working in Jakarta had much the
same to say about Halloween.

"We never celebrated Halloween at home, no one did. I go out
now on Halloween to bars and clubs, but I don't wear a costume."

If you are hell-bent on having a howling good time on
Halloween, regardless of your feelings for the holiday, there are
quite a few options in the capital. By the time this is published
many of the Halloween parties will have long ended, many
establishments choosing to hold their Halloween celebrations on
Oct. 27 and Oct. 28, such as the Oriental at the Hilton Hotel and
Front Row sports bar and restaurant in the Taman Ria recreational
complex in Central Jakarta.

Many might consider it the clearest sign that Halloween as a
holiday is meaningless, so much so the date can be changed to
accommodate people who have jobs they have to wake up for during
the week. Others would argue it is only good sense to hold
Halloween bashes on the preceding weekend to allow Jakarta's
little ravers to let their hair down.

As well as Planet Hollywood, the Regent Jakarta will hold a
Halloween Brunch at Seasons Cafe on Sunday. There will be face
painting, a costume competition and a "trick or treat" parade for
the youngsters, with prizes as well.

The hotel will have a special set menu on "Witch Night" on
Tuesday at its Steakhouse and it will be happy hour all night
long in the bar.

Tiga Puluh club at Le Meridien will be putting on its
Halloween festivities on, of all nights, Halloween. There will be
fortune-telling, fire acrobatics and the requisite costume
contest with prizes on offer. (David Eyerly/Maria Kegel)