It feels as though the year just zipped along at breakneck speed till… BOOM, we were in the summer months. Summer every year signals the start of a myriad of open air events that run straight through to late September.
I managed to attend a few events, first of which was the #EatDrinkFestival at Fantasy Land, the unveiling of the #OneLagos brand at the Eko Atlantic, next was the #FoodFest at the Muri Okunola Park, then the #MentedeModa unusual shopping experience in Lekki Phase 1 and recently Smooth 98.1FM’s #ANightAtTheKasbah which held at the Federal Palace Hotel. That last one happened in October so technically long after Summer was over.
It certainly hasn’t been a boring year and there’s still more to come, I have a few destinations I’d like to visit before we put 2016 to bed. I would like to see Calabar and Jos for the very first time, get immersed in the culture, history and cuisine. I definitely want to go exploring in Abuja like I have never done before. There’s nothing concrete at the moment but a road trip with friends to Benin Republic might still happen. We’ll just have to see, the current economic climate certainly hasn’t helped matters; both local and international flights cost nearly double the usual rates.
While I work towards getting more current content for the Travel Man blog, watch out for posts on old trips. In the meantime enjoy the photos and videos from my Sweet Summer ’16.
The Food Fest held on Sunday July 31st at the Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island. I purchased 4 tickets online worth two dishes per person, 2 people canceled so there was just the two of us. The announced time was from 10 am – 6 pm, we got there just after 2 pm. As soon as we were confirmed at the gate, we got two plastic platters for the food we would be having.
It had been raining all morning and the sun came out for a bit but then it started to rain again. I grabbed my plates of food and sought what little shelter I could with my friend and fellow foodies. After about 40 mins the rain gave us a break and stopped till nightfall. We ate and drank everything in sight, fruit smoothies, palm wine, cocktails, peppersoup, samosas, shawarma, jollof rice and kebabs.
It was still too wet to play certain games but people played board games, table tennis, pool and children went on the bouncy castle. Both professional and amateur photographers went round capturing the day for posterity. The DJ played all the latest tunes and scratched a bit too often for my liking but all in all it was a successful event. My friend and I left at about 5.20 pm, from all indications some folk would not be leaving the venue till 7 pm and that’s if the food had finally run out.
