Watertown, 08/27/2016 - Around 350 Indonesians from across New England congregated and celebrated the 71st Indonesian Independence Day at Arsenal Park, Watertown, MA. Held with the theme of "Unity in Diversity", the celebration brought forward the spirit of community and patriotism amongst those participated.
After the solemn procession of Indonesian proclamation and the singing of Indonesian's national anthem, Indonesia Raya, by all participants, the celebration continued with various fun games for both children and adults that have become a tradition in a community celebration such as this back home. Among many games, two new traditional games, the bakiak (long clog) game and the soccer match with sarong, were introduced for the first time to the participants (including to those non-Indonesians). Abundant Indonesian food and beverages such as the sticky rice in curry and vegetable sauce (lontong sayur), cendol, beef rendang, gado-gado, martabak, spicy boiled eggs, sautéed prawns and many more were also available and became part of the main attractions for those who came and looking for some taste of true Indonesian home cooking. Music and dance performances were presented by volunteers such as the Indonesian Rhode Island Band and a couple of traditional dancers. In addition to the main event, as part of the fundraising efforts, ICONE also opened a charity sales booth with ethnic accessories and fashions from Indonesia to purchase.