New York
The mother of all picnics, the New York picnic, has shown its mettle once
again on Saturday, August 1, 2009 at the beautiful Roy Wilkins Park in
Jamaica, Queens. This year?s picnic was a fundraiser for the newly acquired
Ghanaian cultural center in the Bronx.
As has been customary in the past few years, the picnic was held in a
different location with a less than stellar attendance compared to a year
ago. The low turnout was blamed on the fact that the venue was acquired
very late, leaving NCOGA with very limited time to publicize the event and
people?s unfamiliarity with the new venue and how to get there. Despite
these shortcomings, the picnic was deemed a success, judging from comments
from participants to the NCOGA office.
As usual the diversity of Ghanaian culture was on display. Nonetheless the
collective harmony that is characteristic of Ghana was at its best. The
United Volta Association (UVA) cultural troupe and the Kpanlongo group led
by Zeek entertained participants with different rhythms. Other highlighted
events were Johnny Quansah (aka Johnny Q) a renowned reggae artist to the
Ghanaian community, who was there to charm his numerous adoring fans.
The climax of the afternoon was the performance by TIC TAC who was in town
for his 10th anniversary celebration tour. Tic tac who goes by the
name; Nana Kwaku Okyere Duah was presented with an award for a decade of
excellence in the world of music by 3G Media (Publishers of 3G Magazine and
www.3gmediaonline.com) in conjunction with NCOGA and Boogie Down Nima
Productions. Other popular Ghanaian stars on hand are Grace Ashe, a gospel
Hip life singer, Kwaw Kessie, 2Tuff and others. A crew of Volta FM radio was
on hand to cover the celebrations live. The New York Nurses association was
also on hand to provide free health screening to participants.
The New York picnic has always been a success in terms of its content for
many years. NCOGA, the organizers of the picnic can now boast of being the
only Ghanaian powerhouse organization in America, attributed to the success
of future superstars through the picnic, the only biggest Ghanaian outdoor
event in America that showcases local talents.
Ambassador Leslie Kojo Christian, the permanent representative to the UN,
Nana Kwesi Arhin, Minister at the Mission and Joesph Ngminebayihi, the
Deputy Consul General of New York, Dr. Benjamin Dodoo and other dignitaries
were there to grace the occasion.
Big up to Boogie Down Nima Productions for supervising the show; Hashim
Haruna, DJ Ronnie, Sam Q and MC Papa Linc for working together as a team.
Abraham Kwaku Lincoln aka Papa Linc, the official Master of Ceremonies for 7
years in a row was as usual impressive with his jokes and his delivery. He
has become one of the most sought after MCs to host events in New York.
NCOGA would like to thank the following sponsors for their support for this
year?s picnic: Western Union, Moneygram, Ambassadorway Travel, Prestige
Travel, Trinity Travel and Black Star Travel for each donating round trip
ticket to Ghana, Sam Tuga and Associates, Charlottfields International Food
Distribution, Laurelton Medical, Winnsom Insurance, Heafa International,
Labelle Kumorji, American Medical Centers, Sky Brokerage, LLC, Family Link
Money Transfer, Kuwait Shipping and Desgratias Adade, Ghanaweb & 3G Media
(Publishers of 3G Magazine and www.3gmediaonline.com).
A big kudos to this year?s organizers for a job well done!!!
