DENPSAR (indo.com): Travellers to Bali, especially Nusa Dua, will have a special treat when the rich and vibrant local culture is presented in a week-long Nusa Dua Festival. This year's festival will kick off on August 24 and will run through September 1, 2001.

The activities will be centralized in the amphitheatre area, with entertainment and arts performances held on stage. The activities will predominantly consist of handicraft exhibitions and traditional arts, dance and drama performances.

With its crystal clear water and stretches of white sandy beach, Nusa Dua is well known as a haven of luxurious resorts. As Bali's only fully-integrated tourism resort destination, the peninsula is the perfect backdrop for this marvellous blend of performances, entertainment and activities.

The Nusa Dua Festival will be opened with a grand procession of over 1,000 Balinese in traditional costumes, with many of them carrying towering offerings of fruit and flowers on their heads while others play gamelan music on gongs, flutes, bamboo instruments and drums.

Nusa Dua's international standard hotels and local attractions are providing sponsorship and participating in the week-long festival. These include the Amanusa, Bali Desa Apartments, Bali Golf and Country Club, Bali Hilton, Club Med, Galleria Nusa Dua Shopping Center, Grand Hyatt Bali, Melia Bali, Nusa Dua Beach Hotel, Putri Bali, Sheraton Laguna, Sheraton Nusa Indah and Swiss-Belhotel Bali Aga and Hotel Bualu.

The festival will provide good opportunities for both those travelling to Nusa Dua and for the surrounding community to appreciate Bali's unique and colourful arts and culture in one setting. The event is expected to act as a magnet for travellers to visit Bali.