All about the Standard Bank Luju Food and Lifestyle Festival
The Standard Bank Luju Food and Lifestyle Festival has returned for its 4th edition.
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The festival is a lavish two-day feast of music, fashion, entertainment, culinary exploits, and connoisseur-led premium wine and whiskey showcases, taking place in Eswatini on the 30 September and 1 October.
Culinary programme
Afro-fusion is the culinary theme that embraces Luju’s ethos, “A Return to the African Future”, mixing exotic seasonings into a vibrant melting pot of indigenous tastes and techniques.
Tantalise your taste buds with the rich offerings for your palate from the Luju Long Table, and celebrate the diversity and influence of African flavours with our celebrity-led culinary programme, the Pick n Pay Luju Cook-Off competition and the wide range of foods available in the Luju Food Garden.
Within House On Fire’s iconic Amphitheatre, the culinary-focused programme creates space for interaction with featured presenters, celebrity chefs and culinary demonstrations. Including celebrity food enthusiast Somizi Mhlongo, who will lead an Afro-fusion cooking showcase using 100% PnP Luju Pantry ingredients. Drawing inspiration from the celebrity showcase, the finalists will be challenged to recreate the gourmet dish, adding their own African flair, in a bid to win the title of PnP Luju Cook-Off Master Chef.
Guests are also invited to feast at the Luju Long Table, a collaboration between chef Eric Malinga and Malandela’s Restaurant.
For the more sophisticated palate, the Wine Saloon presents an array of wines and demonstrations from seasoned masters, offering unique insights into the fine art of food pairing.
Music programme
Set against a breathtaking backdrop of endless cane fields and rolling hills, the Standard Bank Luju Main Stage features an inspired array of sounds from high-profile acts from Eswatini, the region and beyond.
Just some of the exciting acts who will perform at the festival include, King of Dance, Zakes Bantwini (South Africa), Ami Faku (South Africa), whose wide range and uplifting music has mesmerized audiences since her debut on Season Two of The Voice SA, Lura (Cape Verde), Radjha Ali a singer and songwriter identifying with Afro and Afro-jazz styles, influenced by the traditional dances of Mozambique, Shane Cooper & MABUTA (South Africa), as well as Afro-Soul sensation Msimisi (Eswatini).
Joining these artists will also be: Sibusiso Malidzisa, a Jazz pianist and composer in Johannesburg who has recorded and performed internationally, in South Africa, Ghana, Botswana, and Bahrain; Uncle Karly, one of Eswatini’s most celebrated household names and Nhlonipho & Kekelingo, the talented duo from South Africa.
Fashion programme – Hairvolution
The Luju fashion programme will take place in the Galp Energy Garden, the newest addition to the Luju stages! Located in House On Fire’s Crop Circle next to the fashion hub of the festival, the Galp Energy Garden will house the Luju Runway Fashion Show, as well as feature live acoustic performances.
This year’s theme of Hairvolution guides the fashion experience. Our hair goes to great lengths to tell a story. It is not only an extension of who we are but an expression of our power to influence, challenge and change.
Fashion Café Marketplace
The Fashion Café will once again be showcasing the best of Eswatini design, beauty and fashion while shining a lens on how African heritage shapes and influences how we express our identity through the past and into the present and future.
Luju Fashion Runway
Showcasing some of the most innovative fashion designers in Eswatini.
Best Dressed Competition
If you haven’t got your Luju outfit together yet, make an emergency call to your designers now!
Kids Zone
The family-friendly Bee Hive returns to the Luju Food and Lifestyle Festival with an exciting space for kids to enjoy a range of games and activities. Kids can indulge in a range of soft play activities such as the inflatable trampoline and jumping castles; lawn games; the ferris wheel and electric swing.
The space will include Bee-themed Stalls: Craft Avenue, Wild Kids, Bantwana, Paint Me Funky, Art Hut, Lactalis, food and drinks, as well as entertainment from Studio 21 dance performances, Danny’s amusement Park inflatables, lawn games, karaoke, recycling activation in partnership with Nsimbi, and even a best-dressed kiddies prize.
For the convenience and security of festival guests, all of the Standard Bank Luju Food and Lifestyle Festival works on a cashless system. Tickets can be purchased here.
