Celebrating East African culture at Mavuno Yetu

Would you not love to have the Sombe dish from Rwanda, pilawo from Tanzania and the famous coconut dishes from the coast of East Africa all in one place?
Well, imagine no more. Because this and more is what you will experience at the annual Mavuno Yetu, a cultural event that brings together individuals from all the East African countries and beyond, on November 14.
Organised by The Lake Victoria Serena Resort & Spa, this exclusive evening of ‘harvest’ will take place at the Colloseum.

The event will feature cultural aspects from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya sampling the best foods and drinks, enjoying the cultural dances and talent displays, music, dance and fashion.
Mavuno Yetu is a Swahili word that is loosely translated as a celebration of the gains and rewards of East Africa.

The fashion
For the past four years, Arapapa has been on hand to provide the fashion bit of the celebration at the Mavuno Yetu. According to Santa Anzo, the founder Arapapa Designers, the fashion house, is always delighted to be part of such an amazing experience and celebration of the east African heritage.

“Last year, Arapapa presented a collection called the “East African life collection” which was comprised of the famous Karamojong shawl. This cloth is also worn by the Samburu, the Turkana and the Masai. As you can see, it’s a cloth that is worn by the prominent east African tribes. We gave it a modern twist, which is very much what Arapapa does,” she explains.

The show also featured Tanzania prominent fashion guru, Mustafa Hassanal with his Arabic Swahili themed collection.

This time round, these two will be joined by fashion designers from Rwanda and Kenya.
The Arapapa fashion house will be unveiling its Kitengelicious collection, with majority of the pieces being made from the kitenge, another celebrated clothing, across East Africa and beyond.

The beauty queens from the East Africa regions are also flown in to be part of the cultural festivals. Miss Uganda, Miss Kenya, Miss Tanzania were in attendance last year, and even featured on the runway for the Arapapa fashion show. All these will be present this time round and are to be joined by Miss Rwanda, and Miss South Sudan.

The entertainment
The legendary Afrigo Band are always available to keep the audience entertained with their soothing Uganda beats and sounds. There are also cultural dances from the Crane dancers, who are joined by dancers from Rwanda, and other regions.

If you go
If you want to be part of the Mavuno Yetu experience
Accommodation. You can book a table and accommodation through Lake Victoria or Kampala Serena Hotel.
Amount. Dinner and dance is Shs150,000/- per person or Shs250,000/- a couple.
Special offer. There is also special accommodation offer of $150 (about Shs450,000) a room per night inclusive of breakfast and taxes.

The food
This is the second reason that makes the Mavuno Yetu a must-attend event. The buffet is always made rich with all the delicacies from across the region.
So you can have a chance to taste the mouthwatering coconut dishes from the coast, the luwombo from Uganda, and then wind this down with the desserts from Zanzibar. All these are prepared by the Serena head chef.
The local brews like the malwa and kwete, are also be available at the event.

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