Our Uganda Friday: Friday Night Lights (Basketball)

by Darlyne Komukama

These blog posts are intended to show you a side of Uganda that you are not privy to in more conventional media while also providing you with fun ideas for what to do with your weekends. The ladies of Awava, here in Uganda, share many interests and this leads us to write about artsy cultural events mostly. I want to change that up today.

Basketball is a big part of Uganda's urban culture and the season is eagerly followed by avid fans at the Y.M.C.A in Wandegeya. Friday Night Lights is a chance to get the fans and the players interacting while keeping the players fit off-season. The idea is that the fans get to play with their favourite players! The fans applied with the name of their favourite player in a text message promo and 10 teams were picked out.

The final is today, 15th April, 2011 at Y.M.C.A in Wandegeya starting at 7.00pm with Team Ikong versing Team Koma. The entrance fee is only Ushs 5,000 Come out and watch Uganda's best play alongside their biggest fans or just catch the slam dunk competition or take the half time challenge and possibly win yourself 2 million shillings!

See you there.

Brilliant New Fabrics Going into Production Next Week!

Thanks to Awava's amazing friends Alexis Coppola and David McCann, we received some beautiful new kangas from Zanzibar AND the Awava camera has been fixed (also by David) making it possible to bring you this eye-catching preview!

Be sure to stay tuned to our website for these available patterns in fantastic new products!

Awava @ LOLA Spring Show!

Awava will be at the Ladies of Lawrence Artwork (LOLA) Spring Show, Saturday May 7th at Pachamama's Restaurant in beautiful Lawrence, Kansas!

This will be the perfect opportunity to find beautiful, hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind items for Mother's Day and for that special grad in your life!

Awava is proud to be present alongside amazing Women artists and artisans such as:

• Early Jewelry
• Little Bluestem Baby
• Glitter & Rust
• Leslie Kay Handmade
• KitMit
• Megan Embers
• Katie Reese

Hope to see you there!

Our Uganda Friday: Challenge your mind at Idealogue.

by Darlyne Komukama

Idealogue is a platform for people to inform and be informed, and to have discourse on those little pieces of information so that when they are done, they see things more clearly, and they are people better capable of contributing to making the world a better place.

The Idealogue team hosts events where speakers from different fields are given 20 minutes to speak on their specialties and take questions on them. The events are always incredibly informative and if you're in town this weekend, you're in luck, because there's an event on Saturday, 09th April, 2011.



Make your way down to the Workers' House, 1st floor terrace on Pilkington Road from 6.00pm to 9.00pm. Entrance is free and drinks and snacks will be available.

I can't see a better way to spend your Saturday evening. See you there.

Our Uganda Friday: START First Sundays!

by Darlyne Komukama

START is an online journal of Arts and Culture chronicling the creative pursuits of Ugandan creators, be it painters, dancers or musicians. Which brings us to START First Sundays! which is "a monthly gathering for art-lovers, artists, art-professional, art-writers or anyone with a passion for East African Art."



Come out to Cayenne this Sunday 3rd April at 6.00pm to witness the launch of the 8th issue and get a chance to review some paintings.

Our Uganda Friday: Art, Music, Food, Culture and Shopping!

by Darlyne Komukama

This weekend is looking to be a very exciting one, choke full of events catered to appeal across the board.

Starting tomorrow, Saturday 26th March 2011, opening at 10am and going on until 4pm, with an Art Exhibition at the Tulifanya Art Gallery. Wasswa Donald, the celebrated Ugandan artist whose previous work has been heavily centred around Elephants. 'I Speak Elephanish' continues that theme. The exhibition goes on until 30th April so if you can't make it tomorrow for the opening, you can still catch it through the next month.



The Bayimba Festival of the Arts is, this year, taking their cultural tour de force around the country before the main show in Kampala in September. They will be in Jinja on Saturday 26th March 2011 from Midday at the Main Street Primary School. There will be performances from Jinja's best Jazz Bands, Cultural Troupes and the Street Theater participants, Youth and Hip Hop Participants, Visual Artists and Fashion Exhibitions. The special guest artist will be Jinja's own Rachel Magoola.




Entry is free to Sunday's Brunch and Jazz at Emin Pasha Hotel on 27th March 2011. The jazz brunch starts at midday.



Every year the Nsambya Estate by the American Embassy has a sale of epic proportions. The sale this year starts on Sunday 26th March and runs until 10th April 2011.


With such a smorgasbord of activity, it should not be hard for you to find something to do this weekend. Have fun!

Our Uganda Friday: Pay it forward and catch a ballet.

by Darlyne Komukama

The Pay It Forward Foundation Uganda is a non profit organisation whose vision is to create a kinder and more humane world by teaching the idea of performing random acts of genuine kindness. PIFF, as it is more commonly known, is holding their Annual General Meeting on Saturday 19th March, 2011 starting at 4pm which is to be followed by a fundraising gala at Ache Havana in the Centenary Park.



Entrance is free for all. If you are in town, come on down and lend a helping hand and support the cause.

The Uganda National Contemporary Ballet was started in 2007 by the acclaimed choreographer Valerie Miquel and since then they have been addressing the Ugandan condition through dance. Catch them on Sunday 20th March at 6pm at the National Theatre where they will showcase two new pieces, 'Out of Control' and 'Fusion Power'.



Looks like we Kampalans have a busy weekend ahead of us. See you out there.