Sanur Village Festival II - BALI

The second Sanur Village Festival II 2007 (15–19 August), which was held at the Inna Grand Bali Beach Cottage and Segara Beach and other venues within its vicinity, started with a bang and ended with an even bigger bang.
Billed as "a fun and cultural event", the five-day annual art/culture/sports/culinary/you-name-it happening was opened by senior Balinese local government and tourism officials at the Inna Grand Bali Beach Cottage.
The official opening of the event was followed through with the sacred Rejang Dewa dance that embodies Sanur's "new spirit of heritage" and a musical performance by Balinese Bona Alit amidst the presence of food stalls that encircle the venue, offering local and international dishes.
Secretary of Bali Province Nyoman Yasa, representing Bali Governor Dewa Beratha, officiated the Sanur Village Festival (SVF) II 2007, said in his remarks: "We are proud to organize SVF II as an effort to preserve our culture and promote Sanur as a main tourism destination."
Meanwhile, the chairman of the committee that organized SVF II 2007, Ida Bagus Sidharta Putra, has said that up to July 2007 the number of foreign tourists visiting Bali has reached 914.360.
"On the ninth day of August alone, over 52.000 foreign tourists, or an average of over 5.800 a day, have arrived here."
"The Sanur Village Festival is expected to attract more and more international visitors to discover the many aspects of life, which intertwines with the development of tourism in Sanur. We hope to present this unique concept of life and introduce it to the international world. Tourism is the breath of life to Sanur villagers," said Putra, who is also the chairman of Yayasan Pembangunan Sanur (Sanur Development Foundation), the patron of the festival.
"At the same time the festival will allow many to discover the uniqueness of Sanur Village itself."
Present at the opening ceremony were former tourism ministers Gede Ardhika and Joop Ave, with the latter praising the island and the people for being an inspiration not only to fellow Indonesians but also to the people of the world.
Crowds of visitors comprising local people, domestic and foreign tourists took part in the opening ceremony with unbridled enthusiasm.
The success of last year's festival had apparently inspired the organizing committee to create and develop an even better event for this year. And indeed, this year's was a better event in that it offered many bits of everything.
The committee has left nothing untouched, as it organized cooking competition, cultural performances and a fun bike as well as art exhibitions (at several art galleries). Also, an international bonsai exhibition as well as an exhibition of international cartoonists and an underwater festival.
Those with a competitive streak went after water sports competition (traditional boat, surfing, kite surfing, wind surfing, kayaking, and canoe), golf tournament, kite contest and took part in an international rugby competition.
The festival's main goal is to position Sanur as a safe destination for holiday makers by emphasizing cultural events in conjunction with the modern development of today's tourism industry.
By all measures, SVF II 2007 succeeded in doing just that as the mixed events enabled many to discover the cultural aspects of Sanur and to observe the development of the area as it embraces global tourism.
On its last days over 1000 health enthusiasts gathered for a mass yoga event. A jazz festival studded with local talents with long hours of international exposure lent a touch of class to the event, as colorful cultural parade closed off the SVF II in a manner that befits its dynamic nature.