Diaspora News of Saturday, 8 June 2002

Source: Yaw Owusu/GCG

Ghana Festival in Virginia: 1000 Delegates Expected

It seems everyone is going to the Ghana Village in Leesburg, Virginia this summer -- Ghanaweb CEO Mr. Francis Akoto, GCG Founder Yaw Owusu, delegates from UST, Legon, Achimota School, Prempeh College, JOY FM, and representatives from the Ghana government, perhaps led by the Ambassador of Ghana to the United States.

What is Ghana Village and what are they going to do there?

July 3-6, 2002: 1,000 Ghanaians and friends of Ghana from the United States, Britain, Canada, Belgium, France, Ghana, Nigeria, Australia, Japan, Jamaica and Brazil, are getting together for the First Annual Ghana Festival, a 3-day gala, packed with a fun fair, trade fair, banquet, fashion show and a cruise (boat ride) in the Potomac River, Washington, DC. The participants, mostly Ghanaian professionals and students, are getting together to celebrate the Ghanaian culture and to share ideas on Ghanaian development issues at the Ghana Village, Leesburg, Virginia, an exotic 110-acre resort, featuring 950 guest rooms, 2 swimming pools, 4 tennis courts, 3 golf courses and high speed Internet access. http://www.ghanacybergroup.com/ghanavillage.htm

Akwaaba Night

Highlights of the historic event include a documentary film on Ghana, to be shown after delegates check in at the village in the evening hours of July 3, 2002.

Day I

The festival officially begins with a fun fair (games and samamo/djama). Delegates look forward to a blend of African, European and American sports, including soccer, ampe, basketball, oware, ludo and dame. A fashion show, featuring Ghanaian models from the United States and Canada, and dinner-dance will follow the afternoon activities.

Day II Participants may attend a panel session on health, education, technology, business, engineering, and [Law, democracy and the economy] at the 2002 Ghana Business Conference. The night will be capped with a cultural show and high-life/hip-life concert.

Day III

Saturday, July 6, 2002, is Old School Reunion Day, to be commemorated with a grand picnic, a live DJ and a boat ride in the evening. Alumni groups of all Ghanaian schools (secondary, training college, university) are welcome to organize their events and to raise funds for their respective schools on the last day of the Ghana Festival

It’s usually tragedies (death in a family, civil strife, violent change of government, etc.) that bring modern Africans and their communities together. That is about to change.

For more information, please contact the Ghana Festival Planning Committee
Email: yo73@columbia.edu
Phone: 301-307-0081.
http://www.ghanacybergroup.com/ghanafest.htm