A Day Out for the Mums: Inside the First Momdates Marketplace

Motherhood can sometimes feel like a world of its own.

There are the routines, the school runs, the endless lists, the shopping, the feeding, the work of keeping everyone else going and somewhere in between all of that, there is the woman herself—the one who still wants to discover new things, meet people, have conversations, shop, eat good food and simply enjoy a day out.

That space is what Momdates has been creating.

Founded by lifestyle creator and mother Marycolette Unamka, Momdates began in 2025 as a community built around honest conversations and connection between mothers. What started from Marycolette sharing her own experiences of motherhood has since developed into regular gatherings where mothers can step outside the routines of home, meet women going through similar seasons and, importantly, have a good time.

On September 12, that idea took on a new form.

Welcome to the Momdates Marketplace

For its first-ever Marketplace, Momdates transformed Muri Okunola Park into a family-friendly shopping and leisure destination.

The concept was simple: create a space where families could spend the day together while discovering brands and businesses that speak to different parts of family life.

There were vendors catering to mothers and little ones, beauty and skincare brands, fashion and lifestyle offerings, school-season essentials and food vendors serving up things to eat along the way.

But the Marketplace wasn't designed to feel like a shopping trip where children simply tag along.

There was a dedicated play area and activities for the little ones, giving them their own reason to be excited about the day. Parents could browse, shop, eat and catch up while the children had a space to play and be entertained.

And because family days rarely go exactly to plan, there was something for almost everyone.

Expecting mothers could explore products for the next chapter of their lives. New mothers could discover brands and essentials for babies. Mothers with toddlers and school-age children could find things for their increasingly independent little people, including items that came in handy with the new school year.

Even those who weren't necessarily there with children could find a reason to stay. Whether it was beauty, fashion, food or simply the atmosphere, the Marketplace offered enough to turn a quick visit into an entire afternoon.

More Than Shopping

What made the Marketplace interesting was that it wasn't really about shopping alone.

The event extended the original spirit of Momdates into a larger setting.

At its heart, Momdates is about mothers finding one another—women with different families, different experiences and different versions of motherhood, but often surprisingly similar feelings.

The Marketplace gave that community a much bigger room to exist in.

Instead of mothers gathering around a table for a conversation or activity, they could move through a park, discover businesses, introduce their children to new experiences, grab something to eat and meet other families along the way.

It also created an opportunity for brands to meet their audiences in a setting that felt more natural than a traditional sales environment. The vendors weren't simply displaying products; they were becoming part of a day that families could actually enjoy.

And that distinction matters.

When a mother discovers a skincare product while her child is playing nearby, picks up something for the new school term, grabs lunch and has a conversation with another mum before heading home, the experience becomes more memorable than a simple purchase.

A Day for the Whole Family

Perhaps the best part of the Marketplace was its openness.

Entry was free, making the event accessible to families who simply wanted somewhere to go on a Saturday without having to plan an elaborate day around it.

You could come because you were a mother-to-be.

You could come with a baby.

You could bring your toddlers.

You could come with your school-age children.

You could even come as the aunty who somehow ends up leaving with something for every child in the family.

Or you could just come hungry.

There was food, shopping, children's activities and enough going on to make the park feel less like a conventional marketplace and more like a community gathering.

And perhaps that is the clearest indication of how Momdates has evolved.

What began as a monthly space for mothers to connect is becoming a broader ecosystem around family, community and experiences.

From Momdates to a Bigger Community

The first Momdates events were intentionally intimate. As the community grew, so did the possibilities for what a Momdate could look like. Recent gatherings have ranged from social activities to creative experiences, all built around the same underlying idea: mothers deserve spaces where they can connect, enjoy themselves and remember that motherhood is only one part of who they are.

The Marketplace feels like a natural next step.

It takes the intimacy of Momdates and opens the doors wider to children, fathers, aunties, brands, food vendors and anyone interested in spending a good day with the people they love.

And in a city like Lagos, where finding genuinely family-friendly experiences can sometimes require a little digging, creating a space where families can shop, eat, play and connect in one place feels particularly relevant.

The first Momdates Marketplace wasn't just an expansion of an event series.

It was a glimpse at what the community could become when the village gets a little bigger.