December is one of our favorite months of the year in Lagos. December in Lagos is exactly how you get scammed into moving back. You come home for Christmas and Lagos “finishes” you with enjoyment. The love for December is a little different as locals, but it’s love regardless lol.
December is also the month of the Festival — #EatDrinkFestival, that is. Year after year, Eat.Drink.Lagos talks about each upcoming festival being their biggest but from the looks of things, they absolutely mean it this year.
What is #EatDrinkFestival?
For the uninitiated, #EatDrinkFestival is our wonderful two-day food festival happening on December 26 and 27. For these two days, at a big field beside The Lekki Coliseum, you’ll get to sample from the finest in local culinary talent, attend some tasting panels, and if you’re really about, sample a fine dining dinner from a chef at the only Nigerian-owned Michelin star.
You’ve only been living under a rock for the past four years and so are new to #EatDrinkFestival, what do you do?
Or you’ve just ordered a wristband to #EatDrinkFestival or maybe you’re thinking about it
Or you aren’t too sure about it, it’s going to be great so get wristbands HERE
Or you don’t know what to expect. What if you don’t know anyone else there? What do you wear?
Fear not, beloved. There is nothing to worry about. Here are a couple tips that’ll help you make the most of this two-day feast so that you can live your best life at #EatDrinkFestival
- Get your wristband early
Lagosians can be the masters of “lastminute.com” and we get it. Sometimes, you’re just too lazy to do anything ahead of time. Or maybe you just don’t trust online payments, which is a valid fear. However, this one time, you might want change things up a bit. Having your wristband early means you don’t have to stand in line to get into the event. We’ve done this four times now, it is ALWAYS crowded at the entrance. You don’t want that type of stress in your life. Guests with wristbands get on the express line, i.e. no line at all. To get a wristband, just order it off the event site HERE.
After we confirm your order, we’ll shoot you an email when your wristband is ready for pick up and you can come down to Cafe One, at Lennox Mall (Lekki), to pick it up. The wristband grants you access to both days of the festival.
- Do your homework
Failure to plan is planning to fail. There’s a lot to see and do at #EatDrinkFestival. The festival will have over 80 vendors across the two days so each day is a whole new experience. It’s like having #EatDrinkFestival TWICE.
Look over the vendor list ahead of time and prepare a list of “Must Visit” vendors. Check out the map on eatdrinkfestival.com (available the week of the event) and make sure you plan to hit your favorites first.
It can get a little crowded and overwhelming at the vendor stands so we’ve added something a little more chill called Fun Size Events. You can sit, catch your breath and continue the feasting. These are four pop-ups spread over two days in lunch and dinner sessions. View the schedule HERE.
- Make a budget, load your wristband
Vendor menus are out early is to help guests budget their festival spend. This year, all payments at the festival will be done with the wristband. Vendors will not be accepting cash or card. To make purchases, you’ll have to load your wristband with points. You can load points at Cafe One before the festival or at the top up stations + front desk at the festival. Make a budget of what you want to spend and load up your wristband.
- Dress the Part
Get yourself some comfortable shoes, absolutely no heels. Add a hat and sunscreen for the sun as well. Most importantly, wear some comfortable clothes because you’re going to be doing some eating. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, so get some clothes with a little stretch. You’ll most likely want to navigate the festival unencumbered, so pack light. Leave the unnecessary stuff at home.
- Pace Yourself
This is the most important of all our tips. Don’t overdo it. There’s no way you’re leaving hungry so pace yourself. The festival last two days this year so you want to avoid the premature food coma.
- Get a Squad
Get yourself a squad for the festival. As soon as you get into the festival, split up, secure some goodies, get back together at the seating areas and share your spoils
- Meet vendors, collect cards
Be sure to talk to the chefs, the mixologists, the artisans. You never know who might cater your wedding or your office’s end -of-year party. Get to know these guys because it’s very rare to find them physically Most of out vendors don’t have physical locations and all most know about them is from social media Meet them up close and ask all the questions you want. Collect cards from the businesses you loved, and jot down notes on the cards to help you remember their significance later.
- If you don’t have to drive, DON’T
We STRONGLY advise that you carpool or use any of the ridesharing services because that’s what we’d do if we were attending an event like this. Eat.Drink.Lagos even finessed us all a Taxify code for N2000 off your ride for this very reason. You’ll be eating and drinking a lot so traffic isn’t something you want to partake in.
- Have Fun
We said 8 tips, but here’s one more.
#EatDrinkFestival is presented by Sterling Bank. DECEMBER 26 – 27, 2018
For the FULL schedule and FAQs, visit eatdrinkfestival.com
Be sure to follow #EatDrinkFestival on Twitter and Instagram.
