The Solo Batik Carnival is an annual carnival

Carnival

Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

 held in Solo City

Surakarta

Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...

 (Surakarta City

Surakarta

Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...

), Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

.

Solo Batik Carnival 1

The first Solo Batik Carnival was held on April 13, 2008 along the main street of Solo City

Surakarta

Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...

, Slamet Riyadi Street.

Solo Batik Carnival 2

The second Solo Batik Carnival was held on June 28, 2009 along the same route, Slamet Riyadi Street. The second carnival used the theme "Topeng/Mask". The carnival featured around 300 performers incorporating masks into their acts, which took place along the 4 kilometers route through the city.

The carnival presented three styles of traditional masks, which are associated with particular mythological characters. The Panji masks represent a king or a queen along with gentleness and beauty, the Kelana masks represent knights or evil giants and the Gecul masks represent punakawan or royal servants.