Kampala Rolex Festival Season 1.

How’s everyone doing?

On 21st August, we had the first ever Rolex festival in Uganda. 

For my non Ugandan readers, we don’t mean the rolex watch. So, what is Rolex, you ask… Rolex is a Ugandan delicacy that is basically a mixture of chapati (known as pancakes to most of you) and eggs rolled together. I’m laughing at myself for giving such an explanation. You know what, there are lots of articles explaining what the Rolex is. Just google one of those. 

I’m a big Rolex fan. Rolex has saved my life on those school  days when I’m too busy, lazy or tired to cook, which is almost everyday. Just one of those from my rolex guy, taken with a hot cup of well spiced lemon tea and dinner is done.

Oh, we were talking about Rolex festival.. Well, it happened. I attended together with two friends; Hope and Sammy.

 We had such a good time eating (ofcourse), taking pictures, making mini videos and just bonding as friends. It was fun and in my opinion, for a first time event, they nailed it. 

So, what happened over there… For all my friends who refused to come because it was “just rolex”, here is where you pay close attention as I tell you what exactly went down over there. 

Let’s start with the food…Well, there were lots of Rolex guys from different parts of the country. Each of them made their rolexes with a twist that was unique to only them…. These guys went all out mehn. There were mushroom rolexes, malewa rolexes. Yes Malewa. beef rolexes, chicken rolexes, vegetable rolexes, and others I don’t remember. There were your high end rolexes and your regular street rolex. My very own Rolex guy (when at school, I buy rolexes from only him hence “my rolex guy”) was there too. I literally squealed and gave him big hug when I saw him. It was nice seeing someone I knew.  Now grab a seat because I want to gush about him. This guy is amazing. He takes his business very seriously and that is the first thing I noticed when I first met him. He is clean, his work space and tools are clean and organised, he does his best to give you the most hygienic rolex he can, he is efficient, makes very good rolex and he is friendly and nice. I bought this rolex from him. 

This is not so different from what he always makes. He just made a few tweaks here and the festival. Here are his business cards incase any of you is interested in his services. 

There was a celebrity cook out competition, I have no idea what they cooked though. loll. There were different stalls where other foods like chips, chicken etc were being cooked, our friends who love alcohol, wines and spirits were well represented. Some of me who is the biggest fan of juice from Uhuru Restaurant was well represented too. There was popcorn, ice-cream etc. In short, the food was in plenty.  

Entertainment.. It was okay ish I should say. There were bands like The undercover brothers who were my favorite of the day, milege, a few upcoming artists here and there. Etc. The usual entertainment in other events. 

The fashion… If you want to have a free fashion show in Uganda or pretty much anywhere, throw an event. There were alot of fashion statements . What stood out though were hats, fedoras, crop tops, African fabrics (kitenge), ripped jeans, shorts and natural hair. Personally, I kept it really simple and comfortable as always. 

I wore these black pants that I got from the thrift market and I paired them with an african inspired crop top made by my tailor. For accessories, I used these black and gold sandals, this green cross bag which is now my favourite, one of my favourite pair of ray bans, earrings, a watch and a choker necklace.

 Some companies, businesses also had stalls where one could seek information and purchase their products. For example MOGAS, Definition Africa etc. There was a modelling agency too, and with the nudging of Sammy (talk about friends who believe in you), yours truly decided to get her pictures taken and leave her contacts just incase. I last did anything modelling related in 2012, so me putting myself out there is new. Lol.

We left early, just when the main artists for the event were starting to perform. In general, I enjoyed myself and like I said, for a first time event, I think they did a good job. I’m looking forward to many more.

Oh, before I forget, the State minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage was present too. He gave quite a long speech that my selective memory only chose to remember him saying that the tourism industry will be organising sort of weekend tours around Uganda for whomever is interested. Each weekend will be for a particular destination. It is an initiative that is meant to instill a culture of tourism among Ugandans and also to make us see Uganda for the beauty it is. So, those interested in travel can follow up on that and get more information about how exactly it will work. 

So, that was rolex festival season 1. If you attended, how did you find it?

PS:. I thought up an idea for my blog. I’m one of those people who have particular service providers. For example a particular tailor, rolex guy, boda guy, hair stylist etc. And I usually stick to them because they are very affordable but still really good at what they do. Now sometimes some people ask me questions. For example some usually want to know who my tailor for my African clothes is or where I shop from etc. So, for the benefit of those people and because I think some of my service providers like my tailor especially are really talented and good and they need to be put out there, I decided that I will have a period where I will dedicate a blog post to some of them. I promise they are very affordable especially for a “cheapskate student on a budget” like me. I believe the posts will be helpful to people who want to have cute stylish things but don’t have that much money to burn or those who just don’t believe in burning ridiculous amounts of money on things like clothes, shoes, make up etc. So, look out for that. I think I’ll start this in October. 

Phew… I’ve talked too much. I garra keep quiet now. Till next time.

Atim❤