The Asanteman Council of North America (ACONA) is celebrating the 2017 Asante Day in Columbus, Ohio from Friday, September 1, 2017 to Sunday, September 3, 2017.

The Asanteman Association of Columbus, Ohio is hosting the event. The Asante Day is an annual event organized by ACONA, which is the umbrella organization that coordinates the activities of the various Asanteman associations in North America which comprises the United States and Canada.

ACONA has been supported by the Manhyia Palace since its establishment, which dates back in the early eighties.

ACONA is a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring together residents of North America who are of the Asante ethnic group of Ghana and others interested in Asante culture and traditions, to assist in the socio-economic development in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The primary objective of the Asante Day Celebrations is to bring together all member associations, Ghanaians and friends of Ghana for a Labor Day weekend of entertainment and cultural show, and to raise funds.

The Saturday evening is the Grand Durbar. As shown here, these Chiefs and Queens are the traditional leaders of the various associations. They are geared up to capture the opportunity to display their traditional dancing skills, as they strive to portray the Asante Culture in the Diaspora. They would dress up in their elegant traditional clothes, like Kente, Adinkra etc, followed by their sub chiefs and sub queens and subsequently, the members of their associations. They would enter the hall of the event in an orderly fashion, take the floor one after the other as they dance to the traditional processional music and drum beats before taking their seats.
From a very reliable source, a highly skilled Ghanaian Traditional Dancing and Drumming group based in Maryland in the United States named “The RhythmWithin” led by Mr. Adjetey Klufio would be spotlighted throughout the event.

To further underscore ACONA’s determination to contribute to the socio economic development projects in Ghana, especially in the Ashanti region, a Fundraising Dinner Dance in support of a Nursing Training School Project at Wadie Adwumakase near Mamponteng would be the climax of the occasion on Sunday, September 3 2017.

Current members of ACONA participating in the Asante Day Celebration are as follows:

The Asanteman Association of Toronto, Canada. The Asanteman Association of Chicago and Midwest. The Asanteman Association of Southern California. The Asante Kroye Kuo of Greater Houston, Texas.

The Asanteman Association of Greater Cincinnati, Ohio. The Asanteman Association of the Carolinas, Charlotte, North Carolina. The Asanteman Association of Columbus, Ohio. The Asanteman Association of Tennessee. The Asanteman Cultural Association of Quebec, Montreal, Canada. The Asanteman Association of Worcester, Massachusetts. The Asante Unity Association, Washington Metro Area.

NANANOM of ACONA in conjunction with the Secretariat, headed by Professor Samuel Kwaku Agyeman Duah and Mr. Kwabena Agyarkwa Boansi (Osofo Boansi) is urging members as well as the general public to attend this event in their numbers to support this worthy cause. Our response to the current socio economic issues would impact our future.