Moroke Sekoboto
The third edition of the Lesotho Gin & Trout Tourism Festival, a premier food and beverage showcase, turned up the fun at Botleng Guest House in Maseru over the weekend.
The event featured five different gin houses and six high class food stalls, where trout was prepared in various ways, each with a distinctive taste of high-quality.
Organized by Expersense, the festival showcased premium craft gins and gourmet Lesotho trout dishes. With entertainment from an amazing lineup, this year’s edition surpassed the previous one’s audience, increasing from about 500 to 700 attendants.
The line-up of performers included Omali Themba, Jab a Jaw, Mr Gin Select, Cleopatra and the Band, Just a Band, Karma, Maveele, El Part El, Ebonics and Thizozo.
Gin & Trout is the only premier food and beverage tourism festival in the country encompassing various activities including a camping experience due to be staged at Mohale Dam from 1 to 3 March next year.
Experisense spokesperson, Ts’oanelo Makeka, said the event had immensely grown as it had attracted about 700 people, an estimated 200 more from the previous one. Mr Makeka said the event was “beautiful, exceptional and a major success”.
“The event is growing, we had between 650-700 people. It was a beautiful event, something unique. I don’t think we’ve had an event like that before. As much as it had challenges, there were good benefits, the setup, organisation, and the general area was great,” Mr Makeka said.
“It went fantastically well because our guests had a great experience even though there were minor challenges. Overall, it was an event that afforded people a chance to dress up, their outfits were inspiring, they looked stunning, and the weather was good.”
The setup, the vibe, and the ambience were fantastic.
“We selected our lineup of artists who created the vibe and experience for our audience. Our event doesn’t target a large audience, the goal is to provide a unique experience for those who are interested. We don’t go for popular music (Amapiano) but unique music and distinctive taste of high-quality food. We requested that selected artists play music in line with the vibe we are wanted to create,” Mr Makeka said.
“We have a camping experience at Ha-Mohale from 1–3 March 2024 …. We want to accommodate more people in a relaxed set up…We invite people to come and join the camping experience,” Mr Makeka said.
The event had also attracted an impressive line-up of sponsors including banking group, Nedbank, and asset manager Stanlib.
