How It Went Down at Kisses & Flicks

There were loads of themed events at entertainment spots all over the city.

But in a corner of the Arboretum, out in an open field, there was an event dubbed Kisses & Flicks. Under the moonlight, couples sat in the open air and enjoyed performances and a film under the stars. Something like a picnic in the dark.

It started off with performances from Andrew Wambua and the Afrology Band, who was later joined by Penya‘s Natalie Lukennaer for rendition of Chris Adwar and Atemi‘s Someday among a host of other original tracks; Neema, who recently made a comeback into the music industry and Webi, a multi-award singer and songwriter. There was also an impromptu performance by GBO (Golden Boy Odongo) with a track dedicated to his mother.

The performances were followed by a screening of Sleepless In Seattle starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the biggest film stars at the time the film was made. Considered one of the best romantic films of all time, the Nora Ephron-helmed romcom enjoys a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and got Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Song (for A Wink & A Smile).

The organizer Quincy Wandera says, “This event will be recurring every end month and is specifically crafted on love and relationships. Every month will have it’s own unique theme.” He is also working on getting a creative team to craft the themes for each month.

“The basic skeleton is entertainment, poetry, dancing, photoshoots, and a movie though there are some other new elements that we want to introduce. Valentine’s was just experimental to taste and test the market and we think that it can be done,” he adds.

The team is already working on securing sponsors so that they can bring in an international artiste for the next edition, which takes place on 29th March during the Easter holiday. “We have identified someone and we have been in communication and they have given us an unbelievably good rate.”

On their very first event, he says, “Love should not be celebrated only on February 14th but everyday and this is something we would like people to embed as a culture to build and re-build on their love lives, marriage or otherwise.”