Pungulu Pa Productions, a Nairobi-based animation studio, hosted the inaugural Pungulu PArty! Children’s Festival on December 7, 2025 at the Parade Ring, Ngong Race Course, positioning the event as an off-screen extension of its Uli & Tata African Nursery Rhymes animated series.

In a statement dated December 16, 2025, the company said the first edition drew more than 400 attendees and featured a mix of screenings, storytelling, music, dance, workshops and interactive activities targeted at families. The festival comes as Kenyan creative businesses increasingly look to diversify revenue beyond digital content through live experiences, brand partnerships and licensing-linked events.

The studio said the festival programming included a screening experience curated by the Zamaleo Storytellers, which it described as blending cinema with a drum-circle format where children participated through singing and movement. A puppet show by Buni Media’s Matata and Friends also featured as part of the day’s activities.

The event included appearances by lead voice actors associated with the Uli & Tata series. John Sibi-Okumu, who voices the bird character Tuki, and Fadhilee, who voices Tata, attended alongside members of the production team, including the series’ music director, Fancy Fingers, according to the press release.

Chief Nyamweya, creative director of Uli & Tata’s African Nursery Rhymes, linked the festival to perceived gaps in Nairobi’s family entertainment market. “As young parents, my co-founders and I had long felt the lack of engaging and affordable activities for children in Nairobi,” Nyamweya said. He added that demand from audiences of the series helped shape the concept: “Parents of kids who love our show had been asking for over a year for more off-screen experiences connected to the series.”

Live music formed part of the event’s line-up. Pungulu Pa Productions said performances featured Kenyan acts Liboi, Komora and Papillon Musa, while DJ sets were provided by Santuri. The studio also said children participated in an introductory Jiu-jitsu session delivered by Nairobi Jiu-jitsu Academy.

Sarah Mallia, producer of the Uli & Tata series, said the event was intended to create a space for families to engage with cultural themes embedded in the show. “We witnessed something powerful - families reconnecting with the songs, stories and traditions that make us who we are,” Mallia said. She added that the company interpreted the turnout as evidence of demand for child-focused cultural programming: “The success of the event affirms how deeply Kenyan families long for spaces where our cultural heritage is honoured, shared and passed on.”

The festival is part of a broader push by Kenyan content producers to commercialise intellectual property across formats, including live events. While the company did not disclose ticketing, sponsorship or revenue figures, the ability of local animation IP to mobilise paying family audiences is increasingly relevant as producers seek sustainable models in a competitive media and entertainment landscape.

Pungulu Pa Productions said it plans to hold another edition of Pungulu PArty!, though it did not provide dates or venue details. The studio also outlined its wider work on children’s content, stating that much of its animation is completed by Kenyan animators and that its creative team conducted research across Kenya and Tanzania to collect nursery rhymes used in the series.

Separately, the studio acknowledged institutional and programme support for the Uli & Tata African Nursery Rhymes series, naming the French Government’s Creation Africa programme, the National Geographic Society, Afrique Créative (financed by Agence Française de Développement), the Kenya Film Commission, Africa No Filter and Braid Arts & Culture Fund among partners cited in the statement.