For a while, brunch culture seemed to be a Kampala affair. Every other weekend, social media would fill up with pictures of people dressed for the occasion, gathering over food, cocktails and music. But gradually, the culture has travelled beyond the capital, with towns such as Jinja and Mbarara developing their own social experiences. Gulu is now firmly part of that conversation.
Over the weekend, Revelation Cottages hosted the first anniversary of Chill & Bites, an all-white affair in partnership with Johnnie Walker. The celebration brought together Gulu’s social crowd for an afternoon dedicated to RnB and Soul, with a Sing Along theme built around nostalgia, friendship and shared memories.
For MC Kash Owakabi, the organiser and host, the idea behind Chill & Bites was to give Gulu its own social gathering. He recalls watching people in Kampala organise brunches and share their experiences online, while those in Gulu had few opportunities to enjoy similar occasions.
“People in Gulu would see those in Kampala organising brunches and posting their experiences on social media, but we didn’t have something similar here. We wanted to create a platform where people in Gulu could also come together, celebrate and enjoy themselves,” he explains.
A year later, Chill & Bites has become a monthly gathering that gives people an opportunity to dress up, show off their style, reconnect and enjoy the city’s social scene.
The anniversary edition captured this spirit through its all-white dress code, which patrons embraced in numbers. RnB and Soul provided the soundtrack, with MC Kash Owakabi hosting alongside DJs Big Val, Joelfresh, Amo B and Drey.
Johnnie Walker played a central role in elevating the experience, bringing its Bottle Turnup concept to Gulu as the event’s experiential partner. Working alongside Gulu City Cocktails, the brand introduced cocktail samples and specially themed serves, adding a curated cocktail experience to the afternoon.
The partnership brought together Johnnie Walker’s premium positioning and Chill & Bites’ growing identity as a social platform, combining music, fashion and cocktail culture in an experience that went beyond the conventional party.
For Johnnie Walker, the collaboration also reflects an interest in engaging with evolving social cultures beyond Kampala. As daytime gatherings become increasingly popular across the country, Gulu presents an opportunity for the brand to connect with audiences embracing new ways of socialising.
It also ties into the brand’s Keep Walking philosophy, which celebrates progress and the milestones along the way. For Chill & Bites, reaching its first anniversary marks a year of building a community and creating a space for Gulu’s social crowd.
The celebration was a reminder that Gulu is increasingly developing its own social calendar, creating experiences that give residents a reason to celebrate without having to look to Kampala for inspiration.
