The Metuk Village government and the youth of Sidorejo Metuk (PPSM) supported the festival initiated by the Sociology Study Program team from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) UNS. The festival featured not only entertainment but also community participation through art performances from each hamlet representative, cultural parades, and the MSME bazaar.

This aligned with the main theme, “Eling Dina, Eling Budaya, Mbangun Desa,” which means “Remember the Day, Remember the Culture, Build the Village.” This theme signifies recalling and preserving the memories of Metuk Village’s past. “Eling Dina” commemorates the Anniversary of Boyolali Regency; “Eling Budaya” recalls the identity and culture of Metuk Village; and “Mbangun Desa” emphasizes that the festival is a platform for the community to participate in village development by showcasing traditional arts and culture.

Tatsbita Hasna Luthfiana, the Chairperson of the Cultural Parade Festival and MSME Bazaar in Metuk Village, explained to uns.ac.id that the event aimed to implement culture that aligns with the community’s customs. Research involving information gathering on culture and traditions was conducted, revealing that Metuk Village has abundant cultural potential.

“This event also aims to integrate the participation of the entire community to collaborate across elements such as culture, tradition, economy, and social aspects,” Tatsbita stated.

The art performances and MSME bazaar were key components of the Cultural Parade Festival. These activities highlighted the residents’ potential through their culture and arts. The event included an exhibition of creative works by the community and the promotion of local business products. Additionally, MSME bazaar booths added to the festival’s vibrancy, providing opportunities for the community to learn about and support local products. The parade, which circled the village, was enlivened by a procession of “gunungan” (mountain-shaped offerings) of agricultural produce and “tumpengan” (rice cone offerings) as a symbolic act. The event concluded with door prize giveaways and awards for the best art performances.

The festival was attended by the Deputy Regent of Boyolali, Wahyu Irawan, S.H., who led the symbolic cutting of the “tumpeng” (rice cone). Also present were the Head of Metuk Village, Wukir Santoso, S.E., village officials, members of the Village Consultative Agency (BPD) of Metuk Village, residents, and other parties. The excitement of the Cultural Parade Festival and MSME Bazaar in Metuk Village was evident with an estimated audience of 1.000 people.

“The UNS MBKM Grant Team has documented all their activities in the production of books, videos, and village profiling magazines. This includes all activities and potential of the residents, covering 25 neighborhood units, completed in approximately four months,” Tatsbita added.

She also expressed hopes that the festival would help revive the village’s cultural memory and instill a sense of pride. Aligning with this, the residents were motivated to preserve their culture through such events, which can continue sustainably by involving multiple sectors and stakeholders.

Humas UNS

Reporter: R. P. Adji Editor: Dwi Hastuti

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Yanu revealed that research is a creative process that is not always related to the strict, dry, scary, and not creative processes. Conducting research means that the researcher tries to see a phenomenon using a new perspective, understand the phenomenon, and find order in the chaotic phenomenon. “And to approach the issue with an open mind and high curiosity,” Yanu added.

Feeling lost, confused, and not knowing what to do is common in the research process, and Yanu suggested that researchers need to bring divergent and convergent mindsets, or creative thinking, to solve these issues. A divergent way of thinking involves expanding ideas, creating new connections, and exploring a new line of thoughts and possibilities. “While convergent thinking focuses on the main issue, deepening the ideas, reducing weak ideas, and changing issues into solutions,” Yanu added.

Yanu explained that the next step is determining the topic and starting the research. Yanu stated that researchers need to select topics that fully represent them so that researchers have the curiosity to discuss the topics further. “Find topics that are interesting, align with field of expertise, focus, with an integrated concept, available literature, unique, and new. Don’t forget to specialize your topic to maintain the focus,” Yanu explained.

This stage is followed by selecting the methods and approaches to solving the issues, paying attention to 5W+1H, discussing the selected topics with others to capture new perspectives and ideas, and putting the research ideas into a research proposal. Researchers also need to effectively and efficiently prepare data collection strategies, categorize their data, data processing, reporting, and master the write-up skills, including avoiding plagiarism.

The last step of the process is publishing research findings. Yanu stated that the publication is usually done in the form of journal articles that contain several parts, from abstract to recommendations. “The keys in creative research write, rewrite, and resubmit,” Yanu concluded. Humas UNS

Reporter: Lina Khoirun Nisa
Editor: Dwi Hastuti

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