Why did I go? I was told there would be Ugandan cultural dances as entertainment, and silly me, I assumed that meant throughout the whole show. Nope. Only the first 5 minutes. However, as you can see in the photos, the dance was pretty cool, with 2 girls putting more and more clay pots on top of their heads. It ended with the one girl having 8 on her head as she danced and sang. Very cool.
We even got to see the very brief Mr. Uganda competition! As an added bonus, during part of the show, Miss India-Uganda (an Indian living in Uganda) performed a "bollywood" type of dance for us.
And now... on to the competition. I've compiled 2 sets of photos for your enjoyment. The contestants were asked to create a traditional outfit from things that represent Uganda- and tell why. You'll see some of those outfits below. Very creative. I think my favorite was the girl who dressed to resemble the Crested Crane- the national bird of Uganda. She is the one with her "wings" spread in yellow satin...
The evening dresses were made by Stella, a local artist/designer. Featured with Helping Hand's paper beads jewelry (a ministry where people here make paper beads products and they're sold in Europe and North America, with proceeds returning to Uganda), the dresses really were amazing and so beautiful, along with the featured beads and of course, the ladies wearing them. Enjoy that collage!
Towards the end of the evening, with new friends we made that night, we were invited to the VIP dinner at 1-ish in the morning. Yikes! But we got to meet the contestants and have a nice meal, hang out with the designers and others. It was quite a night!
Picture here: Jean (left) and Teresa got to meet the newly crowned Miss Uganda, Maria.
Above: The crew of girls who went, featuring Jill, Jean, Shanna, Teresa and me.
Along with us was also Brent, Teresa's brother- both pictured here. They are Volunteers In Action with WGM this year here in Uganda, and are also WGM Missionary Kids (their parent's serve in Kenya as our Regional Directors).