Rujak Uleg Festival 2025 features grinding rujak in a giant cobek

Thousands of people crowded the Surabaya Expo Center (SBEC) area in Surabaya Youth Park (TRS), or the former People's Amusement Park (THR), in Surabaya City, East Java Province to take part in the Rujak Uleg Festival 2025 on the night of May 17, 2025. The event was organized by the Surabaya City Government with "The Legend of THR" as its theme.

The festival started at around 18.30 Western Indonesia Time (WIB) and was opened with a theatrical performance titled "THR Merindu," which recalls the excitement of THR when it was still in operation.

Surabaya City Regional Secretary Ikhsan, representing Surabaya Mayor Eri Cahyadi, attended Rujak Uleg 2025 alongside Surabaya City Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) Speaker Adi Sutarwijono, Tourism Ministry Domestic Marketing Assistant Deputy Eni Komiarti, and Dharma Wanita Persatuan (DWP) Surabaya City Chairwoman Shinta Setia Ikhsan.

Also present at the festival are guests invited from various countries and Surabaya City stakeholders.

In his remarks opening the event, Ikhsan said that Rujak Uleg Festival 2025 has now been included in Karisma Event Nusantara, a calendar of 110 cultural festivals curated by the Tourism Ministry.

He stated that the rujak uleg showcased by the festival has a deep philosophy about the diversity of ethnicities and religious communities in Surabaya City.

"The rujak uleg is has freshness from fruits and vegetables, saltiness from the salt, bitterness from petis shrimp paste, sweetness from the brown sugar, spiciness from the chili, sourness from the Javanese tamarind - which also shows how Surabaya consists of various ethnic backgrounds, tribes, [and] cultures, but we are united in the development of Surabaya City," said Ikhsan.

He added that THR as the location for the Rujak Uleg festival also has a deep meaning in the hearts of the people of Surabaya, which was previously used as an entertainment center for the City of Heroes.

"So this event will share memories together of the glory days of THR which was built as a center of economic activity that used to be used to carry out any activity here," Ikhsan said.

He noted that the festival, which has been held for 20 years, features a giant cobek, or traditional Indonesian kitchen mortar, measuring 2.5 meters wide.

"This shows that the Rujak Uleg Festival destination is very unique, with one of [the activity including the] grinding of rujak in a giant cobek," he said.

Ikhsan hopes that unity can be produced by the activity to realize a safe and comfortable Surabaya City in the future.

"In fact, development in Surabaya through this festival is also for our children and grandchildren in order to realize a safe and comfortable city of Surabaya in the future," he concluded.

The festival featured many variants of rujak uleg from several regions with 3,300 portions of rujak, consisting of 1,300 portions prepared by participants and 2,000 portions prepared by the committee, to be distributed to visitors. 

It also has various other exciting activities such as mass grinding of ingredients with a large cobek, a fashion show competition, a vlog competition, and many more.

On the same occasion, Tourism Ministry Domestic Marketing Assistant Deputy Eni said that rujak uleg is a characteristic Javanese dish that reflects the character of Surabaya city's people.

"Rujak uleg is a characteristic Surabaya dish that reflects the richness of taste, diversity of ingredients, and the spirit of mutual cooperation that lives in the people of Surabaya," she said.

The Tourism Ministry has also set the national tourist visit targets for 2025, namely 1.8 billion trips by domestic tourists and 16 million foreign tourist visits. The ministry also aims for the tourism sector to contribute towards 4.6 percent of Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP).

"Achieving this target certainly requires strong synergy between the central and regional governments, as well as close collaboration between the community and tourism and creative industry actors," Eni added.

Through the Rujak Uleg Festival, it is an important part in realizing this target and as real evidence of how culture as a tourist attraction is a driving force for the development of quality and sustainable tourism.

"The development of local culture-based tourism like this will strengthen the nation's identity and improve Indonesia's position as a tourist destination rich in authentic experiences, especially for Surabaya City and East Java," she explained.