October is a special month for Acityans. There are many events in that month, one of them is Acitya Cultural Fest or C-Fest. It is an event where Petra Acitya JHS students learn about international cultures and enjoy their friends’ virtual performing arts. In Acitya C-Fest 2021, Acityans were going on an adventure with Christo, a grade 8 student of Petra Acitya. They were traveling virtually to several countries in the world. Their destinations were China, Canada, South Korea, and Indonesia. This journey took 4 days which started on October 11 in China. Then, they continued their journey to Canada on the next day and South Korea on the following day. Finally, they returned to Indonesia on October 14. In every destination, Christo met some new friends who helped him finish the mission of learning the traditional and unique cultures of the country that he went to.
On the first day, Christo met Ms. Bertha and Lao Shi Ai Ling. They learned Chinese cultures, such as the history of rice dumplings or 粽子 and Chinese calligraphy. Acityans also joined the Chinese Papercraft Workshop where they created some creative papercrafts. After learning Chinese culture, Christo and Acityans were challenged to introduce some Indonesian culture to Ms. Bertha and Lao Shi Ai Ling. Thus, Christo asked Ms. Venta for help. Ms. Venta invited them to Acityans Cultural Performance to enjoy the group performances that show some cultures of the island of Sumatra.
On the second day, Christo and Acityans moved to Canada and met Johnathan Wijaya. They learned the unique Canadian culture presented by Johnathan Wijaya and Cherrylin Aurelia. They also learned Culture Shock experienced by Ms. Melinda R. Buck, a Canadian who has lived several years in Indonesia from the podcast presented by Charlene Elisabeth and Jason Aldrich. After that, Christo and Acityans introduced Indonesian culture to them through Acityans Cultural Performance by the groups from Java Island.
On the third day, Christo and Acityans went to South Korea. They learned Korean culture from Carmel Melosa’s podcast with Ms. Asri and Ms. Rhesma, an Indonesian entrepreneur who is living in Korea. Then, they continued their journey to 63 Building (63빌딩), a skyscraper in Seoul, and enjoyed the virtual tour to the Aquarium and Art Gallery in that building. In exchange, Christo and Acityans invited them to Acityans Cultural Performance by the groups who performed the cultures from Kalimantan, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara islands.
On the last day, Christo could finally go back to Indonesia. Even though he had a great experience learning the other countries’ cultures, he was reminded to be humble and diligent through the puppet show near his house. Then, they continued watching the final Acityans Cultural Performance by the Maluku Islands, Papua, and Sulawesi groups.
Finally, Acitya C-Fest was completed by the announcement of the winners of C-Fest competitions that were held prior to D-Day. Acityans were given some options to participate in several competitions related to the countries in C-Fest. There were the Chinese Tik Tok Challenge, Show and Tell Competition, Korean Photography Contest, Korean Calligraphy Competition, Lettering Aksara Jawa Competition, and Berbalas Pantun competition. The Cultural Festival looked merrier as Acityans were wearing different costumes and virtual backgrounds according to the theme. Acityans were really enjoying this series of events since they could learn about some cultures around the world while having fun.
