TRUE LOVE MAGAZINE HOSTS DINNER

Recently, the Editor-in –Chief of True Love Magazine, Bola Atta, hosted 300 guests to an exclusive valentine event. The event which took place at the Banquet Hall of the Eko Hotel and Suite was a total deviation from the editions as she wowed the guests with her unique concept which wasn’t devoid of a high level of expertise and creativity. In this report, City People Fashion Editor, BOLA AKINBOADE brings to you the detail

A HIGH CLASS EVENT
The True Love Valentine Dinner was a memorable and classy one, as it was well organized. The guests looked groovy in the dress code which was True Love T-shirts, paired with different colors of designer jeans and shorts.
The deluxe interior décor of the hall was complemented with beautiful draperies, while the runway also added glamour as the organizers opted for a glass runway with light, rather than the conventional runway. Guests were given a first class reception at the event.

BOLA ATTA’S KEY ROLE
The Editor in Chief of True Love Magazine, Bola Atta, was showered with accolades for organizing such a breath-taking event. Apart from the mind blowing concept, her reception was quite remarkable. She was well prepared for this occasion, she had everything set up and ready to go. She was also on ground to usher in the guests and she ensured they were well entertained. The interesting thing about her was that it wasn’t a burden for her to play her role as she gaily moved from one table to the other, attending to the guests. Eventually, when the event kicked off, had a great time as well.

TEJU BABY FACE AS COMPERE
Popular comedian, Teju Oyelakin popularly known as Teju Baby Face, played a significant role at the event. Teju is one of the Nigerian’s finest stand-up comedian/MCs. He was the glued that held the event together and he skillfully discharged his duties. He dished out a good number of jokes and stories that got guests excited and made the atmosphere lively.

KATE HENSHAW PARTNERS WITH PROJECT ALERT
One of the reasons True Love team organized the show was to address one of the major problems affecting women in this part of the world, that is the abuse of women and the fight against it. The show kicked off with a lecture delivered by Nollywood star actress; Kate Henshaw-Nuttal titled “Say No To Domestic Violence”. The screen diva was commissioned to deliver the lecture because she is one of the Ambassadors of Project Alert, a Non-governmental women’s right organization set up in January 1997 to promote and protect the rights of women and young girls. The award winning actress spoke about the consequences of domestic violence against women and what can be done as individuals and society as a whole to curb this inhuman practice.

MRS ALABA FADAIRO REPRESENTED LAGOS COMMISSIONER
The Special guest of honour was the Lagos State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs Joke Orelope- Adefulire. She was represented by Mrs Alaba Fadairo, the Matron of the Lagos State Motherless babies home. She delivered a speech and officially launched the new True Love initiative tagged “Fight against Violence in Women”.

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT & WELLNESS CLINIC
At the event, a Weight Management and Wellness speech was delivered by Prof. Udoh Obioha, a Nigerian born-American trained physician based in the U.S He is specializes in the treatment of overweight and obesity. He gave an educative lecture on obesity, and weight management as remedy. It was an eye opener for most of the guests. According to him, obesity and abnormal fat causes 50 diseases such as infertility, fibroid, sudden death, stroke and others, because it affects the entire body system. He also stressed the need for people to watch their weight before it gets out of proportion.

TRUE LOVE LAUNCHES FIGHT AGAINST VIOLENCE IN WOMEN
In line with the theme of the day, True Love team officially launched its NGO aimed to fight all forms of violence in women. Since the magazine is a lifestyle magazine which focuses on women, they came up with a concept that will address a particular problem facing the female gender as its own little way of giving back to the society. And since violence against women is one issue that has been on the increase for a long time, the team deemed it fit to address this issue in a positive way. According to Bola Attah
, “the NGO will sensitize on the rights of a woman and encourage them to be courageous as we all fight this battle”.

THE INTERSWITCH SESSION
Interswitch Nigeria Limited is a company that specializes in the production of Nigeria Debit Card other wise known as the Interswitch Card or the ATM card. The company was one of the official sponsors of the True Love Valentine Dinner. The Chief Marketing Officer of the Company, Tito Aderoju gave brief details on what the Interswitch cards is all about, it’s various types, the new cards called the Verve card and all the benefits customers can derive from using the card.

TIMI DAKOLO THRILLING PERFORMANCE
The winner of the Idols West Africa, Timi Dakolo performed to the delight of the guests at the event. No doubt, this Soul Singer is a great new talent and blessed with a lovely voice. His career has been on the rise as has performed in some of the high profile events in town. At the True Love event, he rendered two lovely tracks which took the tempo of the event to another level.

LAMI, THE NEW FEMALE SINGER
Lami Phillips is one of the fast rising female singers on the scene right now. She is a musician with a passion for positive change. Her style of music is quite unique and she sang an emotional but interesting love song which had all the couple in the house clinging to their partners.

THE DAVIVA COLLECTION BY ITUEN BASI

Award winning designer, Ituen Basi unveiled her latest collection tagged “The Da Viva Collection” and all the fabrics used was supplied by Qualitex, manufacturer of the Daviva Ankara fabric which is the latest rave of the moment. It was a wide range collection as it ranges from short dresses, maxi dresses; wrap dresses, shift dresses and others complemented with exciting patchwork, headbands and Ankara beads and bangles.

OBONI OMOLI WITHOUT HER BEAU
Nollywood actress, Omoli Oboli strolled into the event midway to the show. Interestingly, she stepped out alone this time around without her hubby. This is because Omoni hardly goes to any occasion without her better half.

BETWEEN OFUNNEKA & UTI NWACHUKWU
Two people that were inseparable at the event were the duo of Ofunneka Malokwu and Uti Nwachukwu.They both enjoyed each other’s company all through the evening. They were both full of life and one would easily wonder what the strong connection is all about. The interesting thing about them is that they are both Ex- Big Brother Africa housemates.One thing a lot of people don’t know is the fact that Uti had always held Ofunneka in high esteem right from the days of being a housemate in the big brother show. This is because Ofunneka was his favorite housemates in the Big Brother Africa show.

ZARA OPKARA EMERGES AS MISS TRUE LOVE
A mini pageant also took place at the event, but it want about beauty, body physique or height as synonymous with most beauty pageants. The concept was to select the best guest who rocked the True Love T-Shirt very well. The dress code for this event was a purple True love t-shirt provided by the organizes, paired with different designer jeans and shorts. And at the event 7 women were selected randomly and after their catwalk, Zara Opkara who is the Jewel by Lisa PR executive emerged as Miss True Love as she rocked her True Love Shirt on a black bumper short which stood her out from others.

CATHERINE EDOHOR WITHOUT FRANK
Catherine Edohor, the NTA TV presenter and the wife of the presenter of “Who want to be a Millionaire, Frank Edohor, is not one of those regular faces at events, which suggests that the organizer meant a lot to her. Even though it was an event to celebrate love among couple, she came without her better half. Nevertheless she enjoyed the show in company of her friends such as the like of Kate Henshaw-Nuttal and others. She was also chosen as one of the women who rocked the True Love shirt very well. She looked hot in her True Love T-Shirt paired with a black jean.

FREE MASSAGES BY VENICI
Arinola Adeniyi, the industrious woman who runs one of the best spas on Victoria Island, Lagos, Venivici was also very busy at the event. She had a section within the hall premises where she offered free massages to some of the guest s.

TARA DUROTOYE AND BUKKY GEORGE’S SUPPORTIVE ROLES
The organizers also got supports from 2 women who presently dominate the Nigeria beauty Scene. This is Tara Durotoye, the brain behind the House of Tara Make-up outfit and Bukky George, the Revlon Boss. Tara gave out her Inspired perfumes nicely packed in its customized goodie bag, while Mrs Bukky George gave out the different range of Revlon make-up line.

ON QUALITEX TEXTILE LTD
Apart from the fact that Qualitex, the manufacturers of the Daviva Ankara fabric sponsored the fashion show segment, they also gave out Da Viva fabric to the guests.

MAKE-UP AND MODELS PROVIDED BY SLEEK
The Sleek Models, an outfit owned by Ebele and Ify Ugochukwu provided all the models who strutted the runway during the Da Viva Collection by Ituen Basi. They were all beautifully made up creating a smoky look which was also achieved by Sleek Make-up, which happens to be another part of the Sleek brand.

GUEST LISTS
Notable among the guests who were present at the event include the likes of Helen Ajayi, Banke Meshida-Lawal and husband, Frank Osodi, Arinola Adeniyi, Kate Henshaw-Nuttal, Mrs Alaba Fadairo, Prof. Udofia, Lanre Da Silva, Mrs Bukky George and Husband, Ofunneka Malokwu, Uti Nwachukwu, and others.