The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Ignatius Baffour Awuah, would be one of the many distinguished personalities to grace the largest and most spectacular Ghanaian Cultural Festival in the diaspora, GhanaFest, scheduled for July 28, 2007 in Chicago,USA.
Three time world champion and Ghanaian boxing legend, Azumah "Zoom Zoom" Nelson is also expected to attend
Former Ghanaian president, Jerry John Rawlings, Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago, Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan and almost all past Ghanaian Ambassadors in the US have in the past made appearances at the festival, according to Ghanaweb.
The keynote speaker is the Chief-Executive and owner of the Korle-Bu Medical Hospital in Chicago, Dr. John A. Awuah, according to Ghanaweb. Mr. Baffour Awuah, one of Ghana’s youngest and most hardworking state ministers, told Space FM in Sunyani that organizers of the annual rich cultural event have indeed invited him but he would have to seek permission from his bosses.
“I have been invited to GhanaFest 2007 and I am honoured by the invitation but I have to seek permission from my bosses before I can decide on what to do”, the minister said. It is believed that if the minister makes it to the event, he would make a strong cultural impression since he is a strong advocate for the promotion and protection of the rich Ghanaian cultural heritage.
Mr. Baffour Awuah is one of the few ministers mostly seen at public functions in traditional custom. Of all of the Ghanaian festivals in the Diaspora, Chicago's Ghanaian cultural celebration is exclusive and offers a mixture of different Ghanaian cultures and traditions on the same stage. Majority of the attendees are members of the Ghanaian-American community in Chicago and Ghanaians across the Globe.
There is also a large group of non-Ghanaians presence at the festival. At GhanaFest, one will expect to see a procession of richly dressed chiefs and queens; endless dancing to variety of Ghanaian music; traditional performances, African Arts and Craft, and lots of delicious and authentic Ghanaian food.
GhanaFest, a brainchild of the Ghana Chicago Club, a Ghanaian investment and Social Club, began as a small festival in Jackson Park for the Ga-Dangme ethnic group in Chicago in 1987.
According to Ghanaweb, a major sponsor of the event, the first celebration was so successful and strongly supported by the Ghanaian community in Chicago. In 1990, Ghana National Council, an umbrella organization for Ghanaian associations in Chicago, eventually became the key organizer of the event and hence named it Ghanafest.
“Today the small community event that started almost two decades ago is now the largest Ghanaian cultural celebrations of its kind in the diaspora and attracts over ten thousand participants yearly”, Ghanaweb said. The organizers have recently brought the festival to the global audience by their massive advertisement on Ghanaweb and other major Ghanaian and other news sources coupled with the attendance by notable Ghanaian officials.
