Laba festival sees growth, fun

The one-stop centre for many arts enthusiasts was at Bukoto Street, Kamwokya, Kampala on Saturday at the Laba Arts Festival.

For 10 years now, the one-day festival has played host to traditional and contemporary arts, and various industry players have always turned out in droves to showcase, advocate, have fun and appreciate art. From performing arts such as theatre, dance, music, and spoken word, to literature and visual, fine arts such as painting, crafts, and photography, it is its rarity that makes it a must-attend.

A children group-dancing for the-public-at the-festival

And this edition was no different. By mid-day, different exhibitors had already set up their stalls as revellers sauntered in slowly.

Street performances ruled the morning session of the festival. Kampala Street Theatricals' Wedding Gang and Afroman Spice's One Man One Wife were some of the gripping pieces that attracted a mammoth crowd.

Paintings, drawings, and designer T-shirts and shoes, crafts, photographs, accessories, among others, were up for sale.

The main stage was set up for the last session of the event and musicians such as Winnie Lado, Afri, Ruyonga, Ba Afrique Sounds, Ife Piankhi an Checkmate Mido treated the audience to live music. Ruyonga had gotten the right audience to ever perform for. He put up a sensational act that sent the revellers to loud roars.

The organisation was on point. It was a fun-filled do. But the turn up being much less, compared to the previous editions, was another obvious fact.  It is not clear where to put the blame for the poor turn-up. Well, there was a morning drizzle that could have hand have a hand in the low turn-out.  

However, one usually attendee was overheard saying: "The turn-up at this festival deteriorates every passing year. The problem must be lying in the fact that it is the same stuff on offer every year."