Jogjakarta Street Parade

Celebrating the anniversary of Jogja city, the Jogjakarta Street Parade was one of the main highlights which took place on the streets here and during my visit here in October 2015, I was fortunate to catch and get behind the scenes of this fascinating event which showcases the many cultures of Indonesia, all in one place. In Indonesian, this is also called the ‘Pesta Rakyat Yogyakarta‘. 

I was actually on my journey to Mount Bromo when the group from INAtopbucketlist had stopped in Jogjakarta for a couple of days before proceeding towards one of Indonesia’s most popular mountain crater. Little did I know there was this festival taking place and I was told by the hotel staff that the street would be closed from 6.00 pm till midnight on that very day we arrived and our dinner appointment was scheduled for 8.00 pm, therefore I had some extra time to wander around and explore this Indonesian cultural parade here.

Below is a photography article based on what I experience here therefore enjoy this and look forward to your comments or suggestions. Again, I am not a professional therefore I take photographs based on my years of self learning. I also use a Nikon D5100 with my standard 18-55mm kit lens. I have captioned each of the photos to my best and if there are any mistakes, please do let me know in the comment form.

Part of the performers start their parade while on the way to the gathering point

Group of Kuda Lumping performers entertain people on the streets

Happy, sad and shocked – all in one photograph

Creative masks say a lot in this photo

And the creative becomes a little scary

This performer takes time to smoke a cigarette

Angel on a motorbike

Dinner time lunch boxes

Taking time to pose before the parade starts

Ladies in traditional costumes pose

Red and White against Green

Ladies in some interesting costumes

Pawai Budaya Jogja 2015 sign

I believe these are the local entertainers

A thumbs up before the parade

Yes, that’s me taking your beautiful photo

Kuda Lumping with kids

Kids with some serious costumes pose for a photo

A few friendly ladies smile for a photo

Kids in costumes

While waiting, these ladies are well spirited

Finally, my favorite photo – I love the make up on these ladies

Jogjakarta Street Parade Information

The Cultural Parade in Yogyakarta is hosted by the Yogyakarta City Government in cooperation with the Department of Tourism and Culture and 2016 was the celebration of 259 years of the city of Yogyakarta in Central Java. This festival is also known locally as Pesta Rakyat Jogja, Puncak HUT Yogyakarta ke-259.

This street parade saw a total of 4,500 participants from 14 districts and 45 villages around here and the starting point was at Jalan Sudirman to the ending point at Jalan Margo Utomo. The parade starts at 6.00 pm and ends at midnight with a spectacular display of fireworks.

Appreciate any comments or feedback and you can leave them below in the comment form. alternatively, you can also follow Malaysia Asia on Instagram and Google Plus to catch my travel photography and updates. You can also read my other article on Places to Visit in Indonesia for 2016 where I have summarised the top places.

My sincere thanks goes out to Indonesia Tourism for making this trip possible and for introducing me to these fascinating places and for more information, you can visit the official website of Indonesia Tourism. For those traveling around Indonesia, do not forget to tag your social media photos with #WonderfulIndonesia. Hope you enjoyed my Jogjakarta Street Parade photography and safe travels.