Malang, en.SERU.co.id – More than 1,000 kindergarten to high school students from across Malang City took part in a carnival circling Malang Town Square (Matos) during the Citywide Carnival and Prayer Concert. The event began with a marching band performance on the pavement in front of Matos and ended with a joint action of unfurling a giant red-and-white flag and releasing thousands of balloons. It took place lively at the Rooftop Sky Garden of Matos on Saturday afternoon, August 29, 2026.
Mall Director of Matos, Fifi Trisjanti, said the activity enlivened the 81st anniversary of Indonesian Independence. Carrying the theme “Harmony of Indonesia in Love,” thousands of kindergartens to high school students from across Malang City expressed themselves in a carnival style while circulating inside Matos.
“The enthusiasm of the children, parents and committee was quite high because this was their experience of circulating inside the mall while wearing traditional Nusantara clothing. Usually, a carnival is identical with a parade outside those causes traffic jams, but at Matos it is different,” Fifi, as she is commonly known, told SERU.co.id.
According to her, the Citywide Carnival and Prayer Concert teaches the nation’s next generation to understand the meaning of independence, tolerance, unity and oneness. It also fosters a sense of love for the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia through the packaging of traditional clothing from across the archipelago.
“The Citywide Carnival and Prayer Concert began with a marching band performance from the pavement in front of Matos. It ended with a joint action of unfurling a giant 6×9-metre red-and-white flag and releasing thousands of balloons at the Rooftop Sky Garden of Matos,” Fifi added.
Technically, the marching band group performed on the pavement in front of Matos and drew the attention of road users. They then entered Matos to attract visitors while circulating together.
Starting from the ground floor, they invited participants to go up together to the next floors. On those floors, other student participants immediately followed behind the group until they reached the Rooftop Sky Garden of Matos.
They did not merely circulate. On each floor they performed several national and regional songs accompanied by a drum band. This was followed by presentations of various regional dances on several floors until the peak performance on the rooftop.
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“It continued with a joint prayer led by a pastor and closed at the peak of the event, when participants were invited to unfurl a giant 6×9-metre flag and release balloons into the air.
This time it involved participants from kindergarten to high school, as well as Christian and Catholic students as the committee. The hope is that next year it will be even more lively and involve many parties,” she stated.
Chair of the Citywide Carnival and Prayer Concert Committee, Ermin Kristianingsih, said the concept was deliberately made different from previous years’ implementations. While previous activities were mostly in the form of flashmobs, this year the committee tried to present a carnival that could be enjoyed by mall visitors.
“We indeed wanted to try something different. In the past it was only a flashmob, but this time we held a carnival. There was a marching band as the opener, then a carnival inside the mall, and it ended with the release of balloons. A concept like this is something we have never done before,” Ermin said.
All performances were carried out by Sunday School children from early childhood education and kindergarten levels up to high school and vocational school equivalents. There were several appearances from Athena Flame, Kimaru Band from Surabaya, Jo Andi, Taji, and child dancers.
“Certainly, Matos became crowded, everyone was entertained, everyone became happy,” Ermin concluded.
Meanwhile, Chair of BMGK, Revmindo, said the Carnival and Children’s Prayer Concert of the Nation involved a number of Christian and Catholic students as the committee.
“This is an activity that has been held several times, and it is indeed not easy to coordinate Sunday School children, especially those of early childhood and kindergarten age. Through coordination with the Chair of the Children’s Ministry Commission and the leaders of each church, the activity was finally carried out successfully,” explained Kak Mindo, as he is commonly known. (rhd)
Indonesian Version:
Ribuan Siswa se-Kota Malang Karnaval Keliling Matos dan Konser Doa Bersama di Rooftop
