Students of the 2025 cohort of the Indonesian Literature Study Program, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES), once again held their annual event, the Indonesian Folklore Festival 2026, under the theme “Nusantara Folklore: Weaving Diversity, Strengthening Unity.” The event took place at Kampung Budaya, FBS UNNES, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, starting at 2:00 PM local time.
The festival serves as a space for cultural appreciation, aiming to reintroduce the richness of Nusantara folklore to the younger generation amid the rapid development of the digital era. Various traditional cultural elements were featured, ranging from folk games and regional songs to traditional culinary offerings.
The Indonesian Folklore Festival was made even more festive as it was held alongside the Traditional Children’s Games Festival, which had taken place earlier that morning at the same location. The collaboration of these two cultural events created an atmosphere at Kampung Budaya filled with various traditional game activities and cross-generational interaction.
Visitors were able to try numerous traditional games such as bakiak (wooden clogs), egrang (bamboo stilts), congkak (a mancala-style board game), as well as group games accompanied by regional songs. Traditional food items were also available, adding to the cultural ambiance of the festival.
The Coordinator of the Indonesian Literature Study Program at FBS UNNES, Suseno, S.Pd., M.A., explained that the Indonesian Folklore Festival has entered its third year and continues to grow into a cultural education space for the community.
“Folklore is not just about folktales. It also includes games, songs, oral traditions, and community customs that have been passed down through generations. Through this festival, we want the younger generation to reconnect with a culture that is close to everyday life,” he said.
Suseno added that traditional games inherently possess strong learning elements because they combine social interaction, cooperation, and children’s creativity.
“In the past, children played while singing, such as in the game Cublak-cublak Suweng. So there are elements of togetherness, entertainment, and character education all in one,” he added.
The enthusiasm of visitors was evident from the large numbers of children, university students, and general public who took part in the traditional games on offer. Not a few visitors admitted to feeling nostalgic for childhood games that are now increasingly rare.
Beyond serving as a venue for entertainment and cultural education, the event also became a platform for Indonesian Literature students to introduce folklore as an essential part of the nation’s identity. Through this festival, students are encouraged not only to study folklore theoretically in the classroom but also to bring it back to life within the community.
A warm and communal atmosphere prevailed throughout the event. The laughter of visitors trying out traditional games and the intergenerational interactions illustrated that folklore still has a place in modern life today.
One visitor, Syafira Oktavia, a student of Indonesian Language and Literature Education, expressed her hope that local culture would not only be remembered as a legacy of the past but could also continue to live on and be passed down to future generations.
The Indonesian Folklore Festival 2026 supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4: Quality Education, through the introduction of cultural values and character education to the younger generation. In addition, the event also supports SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities by preserving local cultural heritage as a community identity. The collaboration among students, the community, and educational institutions in this activity further reflects the implementation of SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
