Anita Athena Ibru is a Midsummer Night’s Dreamer, also inspired by the Danish and Norwegian concept of hygge – come rain or shine, summer or winter. She’s looking forward to launching a special theme at Federal Palace in mid-June, based on these positive outlooks, with the first event of the season, Midsummer’s Eve, kicking off June 19. She gives her perspective in this interview with Guardian Life.

“Midsummer” tends to remind people of Shakespeare’s famous play and traditional Scandinavian summer celebrations, but what’s the connection with Nigeria?

The word, connection is what this special themed week is all about. At Federal Palace, we are recognised for celebrating the narratives of Nigerian culture, but we are equally intentional – and curious about the traditions of other cultures. We welcome every opportunity to connect with other nationals and with the events they enjoy, as we host both overnight and day guests from all over the world. Moreover, there is a powerful, ongoing narrative that a Nigerian is “everywhere”. So why not flip it, and argue that in Nigeria we can also witness a bit of everywhere from around the world – in our menus and in our spaces? Nigerians tend to intermarry a lot as a nation. We also do business with many nations. I believe we also ought to reflect that in our hospitality.

But Nigeria isn’t known to have a traditional summer season, in the universal sense of the word, does it? Isn’t it currently the rainy season?
Exactly, it is the rainy season. But I admit, I have a slight issue with this rather simple label. The rainy season isn’t all about rain. In fact, we find some of the sunniest days and the brightest blue skies the day after a very heavy rainfall, when the clouds clear. So, I think we need to make the most of the outdoors. And I am seriously suffering from the FOMO – the fear of missing out [laughs]. My work now requires me to live and travel between Lagos and London, and during June, I can’t get my head around the fact that one minute I am in Europe, and exposed to the flowery festivals with summer vibes going on, and yet we are missing something over here.

Federal Palace’s outdoors are vast, so what are you planning?
We are hosting some interesting activities and activations around food and drink to mark the themes of Midsummer. Dreamy infusions. Botanical, seasonal cocktails and mocktails reflecting the fresh, summery flavours craved during the winter. All this serves to remind our guests of the beautiful, peaceful, fertile, nourishing grounds we are blessed and surrounded by – coupled with the sunlight and lagoon that we are also mindful of protecting. We are determined to create more occasions to encourage visitors to come back for a taste of nature, and to appreciate and honour this unique oasis right in the centre of Victoria Island, Lagos. This is exactly what the Northern Europeans do so well during Midsummer. They make the most of nature and the light, and of the beauty they have right in front of them, after their dark winters.

But what happens when it rains? Do you follow the weather forecast?
Well, yes, but we also subscribe to what I call the indoor-outdoor strategy. We are drawing from what is actually an architectural and interior design philosophy, but translating it into a flexible approach to hospitality. Namely, that PLAN A means the event will take place outdoors, and PLAN B means it’ll be indoors. This has worked well and not stopped us from taking bookings. We have recently been making even more use of all the space we have to accommodate our guests and their creative event ideas. It is actually a thing: the issue of what happens when it rains. It comes up with most clients, and we are forced to think outside of the box. For instance, concerning The Queen’s Gambit chess event in March, Tunde Onakoya had ideally wanted to curate an event to honour his outdoors chess tradition, but we were ready for a last-minute change of plan, and in the end, we hosted him in The Lobby Gallery.

So, how do you intend to work around the rain during the Midsummer events?
We will use the terrace on the first floor to mirror any event we have planned in The Atlantic Garden. We can also use ‘The View’ for the painting sessions instead of erecting canvases for Sip & Paint on the ground floor terrace below. PLAN B for our open-air movie night would simply be to hold the screening in the bar. We move the seats and create a theatre-style arrangement just like we did for our recent football watch party. I am really up for the challenge! My team may assume this will stress me out, but I am actually enjoying exploring every possible corner and space opportunity in this beautiful legacy property to honour what’s outside. We have also recently started more plant and floral arrangements indoors. Because we want that similar feeling of the freshness of nature to be felt indoors as much as it’s felt outdoors, and the rainy season won’t slow us down.