Success of Rimpu Mantika Festival in Bima City

The 2025 Rimpu Mantika Festival held in Bima City, West Nusa Tenggara Province, has succeeded in attracting the attention of many people from Indonesia and abroad. The public had enthusiastically viewed various cultural attractions presented by 16 art studios in Bima City at the festival, which began since Apr. 24, 2025.

The creative economy bazaar held at the festival was also crowded with visitors. They showed high interest in choosing various local products produced by Bima City's micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

In addition, culinary delights served by association organizations from various regions such as Java Island, Lombok Island, and Makassar City, South Sulawesi are also a special attraction for visitors.

Creative Economy Minister Fashion Director Rohani Astuti assessed that the Rimpu Mantika Festival has an important and strategic role in the long term.

"When art, culture, and innovation are in strategic collaboration, then a festival like this is [held] not only to preserve cultural heritage, but can also be a driving force for national economic growth," she said when opening the festival.

Rohani hopes that this festival will be an occastion that would both promote tourism and have an impact on the growth of the creative economy in the region. She emphasized that the creative economy is a sector that grows from ideas, innovation, and the courage to express oneself.

"This Rimpu Mantika is an example, with this activity involving several sub-sectors ranging from fashion, music, culinary, performing arts, and photography," Rohani explained.

Meanwhile, Bima Mayor A. Rahman H. Abidin stated that the festival is present as a space for cultural expression and creative economic collaboration, as well as a stage for promoting tourism to Bima City.

He added that the rimpu cloth which the festival is held for is not just a woven cloth that is worn in a wrap by locals, but also a symbol of honor to the values ​​and morals of women in the land of Bima.

"Rimpu is a gem, and Bima City is a place that maintains the shine of the gem," Rahmansaid.

The return of Rimpu Mantika into Karisma Even Nusantara (KEN), the Tourism Ministry's calendar of cultural festivals, is a source of pride and a challenge for the region to organize a high-quality occasion.

Rahman emphasized that the Rimpu Mantika Festival is a concrete step by the regional government in supporting the vision of development based on culture and local wisdom.

"We believe that culture does not only belong to the past, but is also the key to facing the future," he noted.

The festival's main event included the Rimpu Mantika Parade involving thousands of participants, including the general public, civil servants, employees of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and region-owned enterprises, members of educational units, and 17 community organizations in Bima City.

The participants walked in the parade from the Paruga Nae field to the Serasuba field in Bima City wearing rimpu cloth woven by the local community.