Recreation centers gear up for New Year celebrations
Recreation centers gear up for New Year celebrations
T. Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta
The long-awaited moment is coming in just 10 days. The New
Year is drawing near and people are getting ready to celebrate it
with hopes for a better future, wishing for success and
prosperity.
Trumpets will be blown and colorful confetti spread in the air
to add to the joyful atmosphere that will envelop the city.
People will pack hotels, cafes and other entertainment spots that
offer a variety of entertainment to welcome the New Year.
Those on a limited budget who do not want to stay at home
watching television can still enjoy themselves, with wonderful
shows in a cheerful atmosphere at several recreation centers in
the city, including Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East Jakarta, and
Ancol Fantasyland, North Jakarta.
Among the events at Taman Mini include the screening of award-
winning film Badai Pasti Berlalu (The Storm Will Pass) featuring
one of the country's most respected artistes, Christine Hakim,
and a wayang kulit (shadow puppet) show, presented by an
Australian puppeteer.
"We shall light up a total of 2,004 torches at midnight to
mark the coming of the New Year," Purnawijaya, spokesman of Taman
Mini, said.
The New Year's Eve celebration at Taman Mini will start at 7
p.m. with music concerts in three different genres at three
different locations: dangdut, Javanese pop and Malay music,
presenting Rhoma Irama, Didi Kempot and Iyet Bustami,
respectively.
A Jaipong mania show is especially offered for those who love
jaipong, the Sundanese traditional dance.
An open theater will present three films simultaneously:
Balada Rhoma Irama, (the Ballad of Rhoma Irama), Kembang Kertas
(Flower Paper) and Badai Pasti Berlalu, which were produced
during the heyday of the national film industry in the 1970s
through to the mid-1980s.
A special film with a running time of about 40 minutes will be
presented at the Keong Emas Imax Theater at 10 p.m. and at 11
p.m.
"The film will feature special effects from four box office
movies: Independence Day, Kazam, King Kong and Star Wars. You can
watch it in Keong Imas, which has the biggest screen in the world
and three-dimensional technology," Purnawijaya said.
After the 2,004 torches are lit up, trumpets will be blown and
fireworks launched into the sky. "However, for the fireworks, we
are still awaiting a permit from the city police," Purnawijaya
said.
After midnight, three different wayang shows will be presented
in three different places. The West Java pavilion will present a
wayang golek (wooden puppet) show with puppeteer Cecep Supriyadi,
while Ki Mujoko, a contemporary puppeteer, will perform at the
East Java pavilion. Puppeteer George Davidson from Australia will
perform the leather puppet shadow show at Museum Pusaka.
"Even though he is Australian, he will perform in Javanese to
present a story titled Anoman Duta," Purnawijaya said.
The wayang shows are expected to last until the morning. "For
only Rp 10,000 you can enjoy all of these shows, except for the
film at Keong Emas," said Purnawijaya, adding that an extra Rp
25,000 would be required to watch the three-dimensional movie.
Between 150,000 and 200,000 people are expected to flock Taman
Mini on New Year's Eve. This will be the time when the number of
visitors reaches a climax. Usually it only attracts 20,000 people
per day on weekdays and 40,000 people at the weekend.
Besides Taman Mini, another favorite place to celebrate New
Year's Eve is Taman Impian Ancol dreamland.
Suparto, from Ancol marketing department, said that there
would be a fireworks show, a music concert and traditional
performances like wayang and lenong (traditional drama from
Betawi).
The music concert, from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., will be staged in
cooperation with SCTV TV station and will be broadcast live.
Among those taking part in the show are top dangdut singers like
Inul Daratista (who recently sparked controversy over her erotic
dance style), Alam and Christina, as well as two of the country's
most famous pop groups Slank and Padi, according to Uki Hastama,
a public relations officer at SCTV.
Ancol, which will have an entrance fee of Rp 7,500 per person,
expects a huge crowd -- at least 150,000 people -- on New Year's
Eve.
"Hopefully, it will not rain," Suparto said.
He revealed that a rain tamer would be hired, but there was no
guarantee that the sky would be entirely clear the whole time.
A rain tamer is believed to have the power to move the clouds
to other places in order to delay rain or make it come earlier.
Last year, he said, it rained at 3:30 a.m. at Ancol.
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso is also expected to participate in
the New Year's Eve celebrations at Taman Mini and Ancol.
Last year, the city administration held several traditional
performances along Jl. Thamrin and Jl. Sudirman, while a giant
stage was erected in front of Grand Hyatt hotel, featuring
prayers recited by various religious groups near the Hotel
Indonesia traffic circle, Central Jakarta.
The public relations office at City Hall, however, could not
give any information about the program for this year, saying "it
is still being discussed."
Seaworld, which is also located in Ancol, does not have any
special show planned for New Year's Eve. On Dec. 31, it will even
close earlier, at 3 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m., according to its
marketing executive Agung Nugroho.
"But on Dec. 25, Dec. 27 and Dec. 28, there will be a Santa
Claus parade in the main aquarium. Seven divers dressed up in
Santa Claus outfits will decorate a Christmas tree and feed the
fish," he said, adding that the show starts at 11 a.m. Entrance
tickets to Seaworld are Rp 25,000 per person.