Star Wars Day Jakarta happened over the weekend of Saturday May 18th to Sunday 19th, 2013 in the capitol of Indonesia; Jakarta, with festivities taking up the 2nd floor premises of Balai Kartini (a local convention center). TOYSREVIL is the "Official Media Partner" for this event (and no I'm not on the event poster, so don't bother go looking for it LOL) - and I had the honor to be invited over to Jakarta to cover and enjoy the festivities! *My sincere thanks for the opportunity, guys*
And while this would not be my first trip out of the country after I survived Stroke in end-2010, it would be an interesting time indeed to make my second trip to Jakarta (first being in 2010, for "Munny World Festival Indonesia" courtesy of Plastic Culture), and as well to conquer my own trepidations of traveling independently abroad. And whatever fear or doubts I might have had of my physical ability to, it simply could not stand up to my excitement for the trip!
(Above-left: Signage on ground floor / Above-right: panel on 2nd floor)
Arriving the morning of Saturday May 18th, I went directly from the airport to the venue location at Balai Kartini, and was nearly left at the entrance of an elaborate wedding, if not for the sharp door man LOL
Greated by Yudi (aka The Yellow Dino; my main contact for the trip) - I was brought thru the exhibition and acquainted with the locale. After a hearty lunch of a Cheezy Dog and Cabonara Spagetti at the "Mos Eisley Cantina" (run by the folks from Droids Cafe), I got down to my snappery, with my main mode of reportage in the form of Twitter and Instagram!
It was not until later in the afternoon, that I checked into my hotel (thanks to Pram for taking care of me), which was a stone's throw away from the event location. I like it already! Lugging around my laptop was a real bitch tho…
(There are some minor changes to the layout, especially
for the "Battle of Hoth" and "Battle of Geonosis" displays.)
The event took up pretty much most of the second floor, with predominantly three areas: A main exhibition hall, flanked by slightly smaller areas which housed the Member Clubs and Organizations (where there was also a mini screening room, showing all 6 Star Wars movies!), and the Retail Area(s).
The stretch lining the hall was packed side-by-side with designed panels for photo-ops, and on the second day Sunday, the previous night's "live" mural / graffiti panel was brought up and displayed. Would be great if there were more space to be able to take full body snaps, but I'm just quibbling here … and I never did take a shot here myself! *URGH*
The entrance to the main hall was as interesting as it was packed and crowded. And by "packed" I meant the inclusion of a myriad of smaller tables and make-shift stalls lining the corridor outside of the entrance - sort of like a "galactic market", but without the frills. That was also where Artist Prints were available for sale, which the diminished eye-sighted-me completely missed on Day 1!
And when the crowd descended on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon? My head was a'spinnin', yo!
Entering the hall, you were greeted on the right by the "Art Project" exhibition (my spot to be, bar none), while on the left was a photo-wall (desert scene in Episode One), and two slices of technology were showcased: Projection Mapping and the Holopod.
The center lobby area served mostly as a photo-op spot instead, with constant snappery of folks in Star Wars cosplay, effectively taking up the walkway! LOL
The next step into the inner sanctum of the hall, was a choice: Either step into the "Darkside" (represented by white tube-lights on Sith-scarlet), or walk through the "Lightside" (represented by the white-panel and lights). Nice touch, this.
Walking thru the "Darkside", you will be greeted with a giant Ewok plush, glass cabinets of toys and collectibles, toy-dioramas including Jabba's Palace, Battle on Hoth and Battle on Geonosis … ALL of which I personally interpret to be the "Darkside" you personally choose, when you start purchasing everything Star Wars, and lapse into a darkened tunnel of unrequited dreams you may never return from (sorta like my nick "TOYS ARE EVIL" muahahahaha).
(FYI: The "Battle of Hoth" made it's display debut in Star Wars Day Bandung 2012)
Walk thru the entrance way representing the "Lightside", you will enter into the exhibition zone of Seno Haryo's "Art of Star Wars Photography" exhibition, which featured framed photographs filmed using 1/6th-scale, of which were also laid on display. I was quite amazed at both the value and effort put into this exhibition pieces. Wished I had a chance to meet Senyo himself and shake his hand.
Both zones lead directly to the masterpiece at the end of the room: the 1:1 scaled Snowspeeder scratch-built by the team from Zerotoys in Bandung. Very impressive indeed! Click on image above to read my full report :)
On the side of the Snowspeeder, is an area cordoned off for the LEGO exhibit, and further in, the retail area with shelves filled with toys of all colors and make (there was also an uncle selling Star Trek trading cards lol), for which I was resisting taking a closer look and opening my wallet for a slice of shoppery, because what can you do when you attend a Con/Event? Buy, BUY, BUY! muahahahahaha
But you know what? I resisted the urge.
Simply because my senses had been assaulted from the get go, of the insane crowds, the sounds, the dim-lighting, and frankly I had a hard time trying to mentally cope with the constant barrage, and not much places for me to take a rest and sit too (Besides the Mos Eisley Cantina which did not sell plain Aqua, which I need desperately). But I grit my teeth, chat with folks to distract myself and ended up having more fun than expected, and lived to chronicle my journey in this blogpost, innit? HAH!
Sorry, but I could not "shop" to distract myself, but believe you me, I had wanted to ... hahaha
Walking thru a door at the end of the room, leads you to another area where individual retailers also hawked their goods, which extended beyond the Star Wars theme, and I kick myself now for now snapping a pic of an enlarged KAWS Darth Vader, which was obviously a bootleg LOL
Taking centerstage was a Darth Maul on display, which Riza Satyagraha mentioned about in my interview video posted below :)
And while thus far I have taken you on a geographical walk thru the event, perhaps I will let the two "main men" of the event share their thoughts with you (Apologies for my lackluster audio, and please turn the volume up to hear their words ;p). Again, my thanks for the hospitality and opportunity, Riza and Aldo Khalid!
One constant question echoed in my mind throughout the two days: "Would we ever see this sort of genre expo here in Singapore?" - and I am hard-pressed for a tangible answer, and could only hope for a "fanboy's best" that someday it might happen, and by that I do not mean a sole booth at the local annual toy-con, IMHO.
Regardless, instead of lamenting what others have that which we do not, I enjoyed myself there and then, and relished in the geekdom with as much abandon as my broken body could muster!
And what was truly amazing about the event, was that it is a fan-baed event, by fanboys for fans, started in Bandung last year, purely for the love of Star Wars, and now happening in Jakarta in 2013m with the help of event folks SACCA (organizers for the annual "Jakarta Toys and Comic Convention"). *RESPECT*
Above-left: My event tag on Jessica Kholinne's print …
of course I only put on the sticker AFTER the event ended! URGH.
Above-right: One of the coolest ladies I met at SWDJKT - thanks for all the trouble, Tanti!
This time last week, I found myself packing and getting ready for my trip to the airport, and returning home to Singapore. Waking up in the morning, I had felt that the weekend was like a "dream" - in an echoed snap of the fingers, the event started and ended, and most new friends had returned to Bandung the night before, while everyone else in Jakarta had started their brand new work week.
I found myself glued to the sofa in my hotel room, and staring at the plasma screen for some time, hesitant to leave, to say "goodbye" to Jakarta.
And I left by myself, and touched down in Singapore a few short hours (after a delayed flight, and witnessing a fight at the Smoking Room in the Boarding Lounge), my heart and mind still somehow left behind in J-town…
It has been one week since the event ended, and I miss it already. Even though it was just 2+days, it had been an amazing time with new found friends, and meeting old friends, and that alone is exceptional already. Besides the fact that I travelled out by myself, but that's a pat on the back I give myself, no worries ;p
Here's hoping I have the opportunity to attend next year's Star Wars Day celebrations in Indonesia, wherever the event may be held!
Cheers, and May The Force Be With You All :)
Andy TOYSREVIL
