The oldest festival in the land of Papua, Baliem Valley Culture Festival held by the Regency of Jayawijaya through the Culture and Tourism Office of Jayawijaya, will be returning for the 27th time this year with the theme of “Cultural Heritage as the Traces of Civilization”.
From 8-10 August 2016, the Walesi district will host a variety of art and cultural attractions and performances from the Hubula people. Among them are the Karapan Babi, Pikon musical instrument competition, Sege throwing, and the popular tribal war performance, a theatrical reenactment of Hubula tribe history. During the festival, visitors can also shop for local crafts and products including Noken bag, Wamena coffee and koteka.
The festival will be followed by a Culture Carnival on 11 August 2016 with participation by students of all ages, local organizations and local government. For the pre-opening, a VIP gala dinner will be held to welcome ambassadors from eight foreign countries.
Each year, there are up to 1,000 foreign visitors, mostly Europeans, who travel all the way to Wamena to see the festival. During the press conference, Regent of Jayawijaya, John Wempi Wetipo, promises that the festival this year will have several improvements to encourage even more visitors. The goverment cooperates with an event organizer to create more exciting attractions, increase the quality of the event and get more exposure. There will be visitor bracelets with unique barcodes for easier tracking. The whole festival will also no longer charge admission fee.
Also present during the press conference were Regional Secretary of the Regency of Jayawijaya, Yohanes Walilo, the Head of Culture and Tourism Office of Jayawijaya, Alpius Wetipo, and Commitment Maker Official, Walden Hood Sinaga.
For more information check out www.festivalbudayabaliem.com
