This year’s Ghanafest is on Saturday, July 31st , 2010 at Chicago’s Washington Park at 5600 South Russell Avenue, (the Street east of Martin Luther King Drive and 55th street aka Garfield Blouvard). West of Du Sable Museum and near the swimming pool. It is the same location as last year’s. For those who would need further directions, call 773-636-7013, 312-338-3768 or 773-960-5416 or email to ghananationalcouncil@yahoo.com.

Fellow Ghanaians, like it or not, the shadow of Ghanafest has changed forever. By this I mean, we the community need to do whatever it will take to help sustain this festival. The days when we get spontaneous sponsorship and grants are over. The days when the Council give hand-outs to Associations are over and the days when the City of Chicago over-look the things we do at Ghanafest is over. What are in place are “self” evolution, “self” sustenance and “self” endowment.

The irony of basic fact is, the Associations are equally refusing to participate in traditional programs that help raise funds to help fund the festival. A careful look at the Revenue for Ghanafest reveals that whilst sponsorship has dried out, the Associations too are refusing to sell raffle tickets to help sustain Ghanafest. By this trend, the Executive must look for professional ways and means for funding our beloved festival. This year, one of the sources was to seek a $1,500.00 loan from each Association just to make deposit payments on logistics needed for Ghanafest. The good news is that, most of the Affiliates have paid up their outstanding arrears. A quick look into the comparable accounting of Ghanafest from 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 revealed a rise in cost and dwindling revenue at staggering opposing upward and downward sloop respectively.

A few examples are Chicago Park District charged $3,025.00 in 2007 through 2009; but in 2010 they are charging $11,400.00. Tent rentals increased from $7,980.00 in 2007 to $11,909.25 in 2010. Make no allusions about upgrading of logistics. It is the same items, same materials to date. Overall cost has risen from $24,000.00 in 2007 to $43,000.00 in 2010. Combined sponsorship in revenue was $12,900.00 in 2007 to $2,950.00 for 2010. We sought for a loan $1,500.00 from each Association for which as I write stood $12,000.00 collected. All Vendors for equipment (i.e.; tents, chairs, tables, electricity, fencing, toilets etc) to be used have to be paid in full before the festival takes off.

The question is, who funds the balance of almost Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00)?

Ladies and Gentlemen, all we are asking the community for is massive patronage of Ghanafest ! Pay $5.00 at the gate to help pay our way out and also to sustain and preserve the festival for our children and their children’s children. Besides, it has been a Ghanaian identity well recognized by the City of Chicago and all Ghanaians home and abroad,our African American brothers and sisters and other ethnicities and fans who participate in Ghanafest yearly. Please, refuse to cheat at the gate. Be a patriot and pay the $5.00 to enter!

I will close by entreating all in our community to eschew bitterness and rancor. Let us embrace peace and unity of purpose, to sustain our national identity as Ghanaians. Let us give our Chiefs ,Queens, elders and leaderships at the various levels of our community due respect, because their sacrifice is of essence to our cause as Ghanaians in the Diasporas. There is no “US” and “THEM” in anything we do. We are one people whose character is defined by where we came from. We were raised in a community where we share everything together. The Ghanaian identity is cooperation and/or cooperative. We are “Oman Baako mu nnipa”. To smile is the real Ghanaian identity, we bite no one. We are one people full of respect towards one another. Let peace prevail as we enter Ghanafest because it is healing time.A time to proudly come together as Ghanaians and celebrate our rich culture!

The participants are going to be at their very best. Let all who would attend this year’s festival braze for a wonderful festival. We have planned a variety of programs to keep you entertained all day.The gates will open at 11.00 prompt and end at 10.00pm. If you want African arts and craft, it will be there cheaply to buy! A culinary experience awaits you as we have lined up a variety of Ghanaian cuisine at our famous food court. Hope to see you there. I thank you dearly.

JOHN HENRY ASSABILLPRESIDENT (GNC)

March 5th, 2010 @ Sikira International NightClub
[1040 S. 57th St.- Philadelphia, PA 19143]
Doors open @ 10PM

SOUNDS::
INFAMOUS-> DJ SAM: ROCK’in the TURNTABLES w/ HOTTEST TUNES 2ND YEAR IN A
ROW
DJ LARRY aka MASTER MIX: HOLDING IT DOWN ALONGSIDE

LIVE COVERAGE::
Orijin Magazine
Adachi Photography

FOOD::
- Chichinga (Kabobs GH Style) *fresh off the grill
[aka Suya]
[aka Roasted Meat]

LIVE PERFORMANCE BY:
MICHAEL BLACKSON aka “the African KING of Comedy in America
…as seen on…
B.E.T. Club Comic View – “Next Friday” Movie – Dave Chappelle Show -
B.E.T. Awards – Def Comedy Jam – Bad Boys Comedy

PURCHASE ADVANCE TIX::
Price: $15.00
- PayPal

VIP RESERVATIONS:
Gold Package:
2 bottles + free entry + 10 pcs of meat}
[$350 + 4 per table]

Platinum Package:
3 bottles + free entry + 15 pcs of meat}
[$500 + 6 per table]

SPONSORS::
Marfo Children Care Foundation
Orijin Magazine
BET Comedy
GhanaWeb
GhanaLinx
Afriqiyah Records
Nak Productions

DONATION::
A portion of the proceeds will be given to MARFO CHILDREN CARE FOUNDATION
(http://marfochildrencare.org) in Ghana.
{The mission of the Foundation is to provide family-based Christian homes
to facilitate spiritual and emotional growth and academic excellence to
orphans. MCCF in essence is an orphanage however it has a uniqueness that
sets it apart from other orphanages.}

check out::
(www.nakproductionsonline.com)

contact::
tel: 215.917.1408
email: gh53@gmail.com

NkuranShe, Inc. Presents…..
THE 53rd INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATION| PARTY
SATURDAY MARCH 6, 2010
@MOYA LOUNGE
1371 Clairmont Rd
Decatur, GA 30033

Calling all of my people of the African Diaspora!!! Come party with the Lovely Ladies of NkuranShe, Inc.

-And all my other African and Caribbean nations come and party with your sista nation, GHANA!!!

This will be the hottest Ghanaian event of the Spring…The sexiest Ladies of ATL will be in the building!!

****LADIES FREE TIL 11PM***** ******LADIES FREE TIL 11PM***** ******LADIES FREE TIL 11PM******

HOSTED BY: GEORGIA’S MISS GHANA, JEWEL ABENA THOMPSON

MUSIC BY: THE INFAMOUS DJ MIGHTY MIKE (9ja will be reppin hard!)

THIS IS A GROWN & SEXY EVENT!!! DRESS CODE WILL STRICTLY ENFORCED…

For V.I.P. Packages and cheaper advance tickets, Please Contact:

NkuranShe@gmail.com

(Reminder…V.I.P. tickets are going quickly!!!)

To view the venue, please log on to:

www.moyalounge.com/html/gallery

The Ghana Parade Council (GPC) has joined ranks with The National Council of Ghanaian Associations (NCOGA) to make an unprecedented event. This event as described by the GPC will set the foundation for Ghanaians far and near to express their cultural pride and contributions to New York City , especially in the Bronx, which has the largest population of Ghanaians in the United States .

This group of young and dynamic Ghanaian professionals through their grass root efforts has been able to circumvent the bureaucracy of planning a community event by securing permits, galvanizing Ghanaian Associations from the tri-state area, vendors and the Ghanaian residents of NYC to put together this paramount event. They will showcase cultural performers and are providing some of the hottest hip-life, and high-life talent.

This historic event will be attended by some of New York City ’s most respected political leaders. Namely, Deputy Bronx Borough President, Ms. Aurelia Greene, Assembly Woman Vanessa L. Gibson (77th District), Assemblyman Michael Benjamin (79th District), Council member Helen Diane Foster (16th District), and the Mayor’s Office.

With the continued financial support from the various Ghanaian Associations of New York , family, and friends this event is guaranteed to be a success. This is a testament to the support and commitment the elders have bestowed on the youth organizers of this historic event.

GPC has done what no other Ghanaian Association has been able to do, and will continue to aspire for great things in the community. Hopefully this will inspire young Ghanaians to have passion and conviction in their planning for the Ghanaian community.

GPC is asking all Ghanaians near and far to join ranks with them to make this a successful event.  Bring your Ghana flags, wear your traditional clothes, and more importantly, come out that day to Crotona Park in the Bronx to show your pride and celebrate our culture.

CLICK ON THE AD TO GO TO THEIR OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

This Event is Sponsored by

On May 23-24, Africans from the U.S. , Canada and elsewhere in the dispersed African world will converge on Washington , D.C. for African Liberation (ALD). Recognizing that ALD cannot just be a celebration of some liberation that the African nation has not yet won, the African Peoples Socialist Party (APSP) will be using this ALD mobilization to forever change the North American front of African (Black) liberation movement. The theme of this year’s ALD is “Separated by Colonial Slavery, Reunited by Revolutionary Resistance! “.

With this ALD mobilization the APSP is calling on African people to join the African Socialist International, a worldwide revolutionary organization to unite and liberate Africa and her dispersed people! While ALD has always been a strategic tool of the African Peoples Socialist Party to bring masses of African (Black) people into revolutionary political life, this year’s ALD will serve as the conference to consolidate the North American Region of the African Socialist International – the single revolutionary organization that will function as the general staff for the  international African revolution necessary to liberate and unite Africa and African people worldwide under the leadership of the African working class. This is a very special undertaking, as this is part of a global effort to unify the African working class all over the world. Our first ASI regional conference was in October 2008 in Sierra Leone , West Africa with over 500 African organizations in attendance and we are soon to have an East African regional conference in Nairobi , Kenya in April.

In early March the Caribbean was rocked with resistance when masses of African workers rebelled against French colonialism in Martinique and Guadeloupe . Weeks later, we saw the same type of resistance occur in Kenya and Sierra Leone , where African workers rose up against the violent conditions imposed on us by neo-colonialism in those countries. Most recently, we began to see resistance in the U.S. , where from coast to coast the African working class is beginning to carry out courageous acts of resistance against U.S. colonial oppression.

Lovelle Mixon made international headlines when he killed 4 police officers in Oakland , CA – an act of resistance that was a response to such oppression. African communities of Oakland and throughout the U.S. are locked down under a deadly colonial occupation no different than the conditions imposed on the Iraqi and Afghani people under the U.S. military occupation and the near genocidal colonial assault on the Palestinian people by the illegitimate settler-state of Israel. Just like the resistance of Nat Turner and Gabriel Prosser, enslaved Africans once vilified and today considered heroes, African people in Oakland have a right to struggle.

The International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement, the mass organization of the APSP, has been intervening in the spontaneous and leaderless struggle the African working class are engaged in with the capitalist colonialist U.S. government. This intervention gives our people the leadership necessary to not only fight, but win! In Oakland InPDUM organizers have been leading demonstrations and community forums to defend the African working class from the same attacks that Lovell resisted. In Philadelphia , the InPDUM is hard at work pushing back attacks being made by the local neo-colonial government led by Mayor Michael Nutter.

InPDUM organizers in Philadelphia have been waging an unrelenting struggle against Nutter’s $billion war against the African community which is used specifically for police and prisons  as opposed to economic development and reparations. During a recent city council meeting where Nutter was to unveil his 2010 war budget, police attacked 2 members of InPDUM who were staging a peaceful protest from the audience. Among the City Hall 2 is InPDUM’s International Organizer Diop Olugbala who police attempted to choke to death as if to say that speaking in the interest of the African community is illegal.

This resistance is significant on many levels. Perhaps most important is the fact that the resistance of Africans in the belly of the beast have the ability to serve the death-blow to imperialism from within its own borders. In the U.S. and Canada , we live and work in close proximity (sometimes within walking distance) of the same institutions from where imperialism launches its attacks on African people daily. We should not allow for U.S. imperialism to know one day of peace within its own borders as long as our people suffer and toil within them. Through the leadership of the African Socialist International – whose North American region will be established at the ALD this year, the struggles being made throughout the U.S. have their greatest significance. There will be no freedom for Africans in Oakland,  Philadelphia or anywhere else independent of a freedom fought for African people worldwide.
As we all know, African Liberation Day is a very important day in the history of African (black) people worldwide. At this time we celebrate the past works or our African heroes as well as perfect strategies on how we can continue this much needed work of liberating our people. The Toronto African Liberation Day Committee is currently organizing a bus trip from Toronto to African Liberation Day (ALD) in Washington DC . Tickets are on sale for $140.00 which includes bus fare, housing (hotel) and the ALD Conference fee. This is not just some regular trip to DC but an attempt to unite the African (Black) community in Canada with the international African revolution all over the world. Come to African Liberation Day and find out how we can really get free! This Time till it’s won!

GET ON THE BUS!
For more information call 647-210-2381 or email ald.toronto@yahoo.com
The Washington, DC conference will be held at the Rosario Charter School at 1100 Harvard Street NW

Hotel Information where we will be staying:

Holiday Inn Georgetown
2101 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007
Telephone: 202-338-4600
OR (877) 863-4780

The bus departs from Toronto on Friday May 22nd @ 7pm and returns Monday May 25th Before 6am.

Ghanaian reggae/dancehall artist, Batman Samini, joined a host of international artistes to mark the 4th Annual Bob Marley Celebrations in Atlanta Georgia over the weekend. The 4-day festival ended on Saturday.

Samini who toured Jamaica earlier joined the likes of Una Morgan, Laza, Shola Lewis, Kelly Love Jones, Carla C. Gomez, Ishmael Turner, Jah Bless, Dana Gilmore and Eastern Standard at Atlanta’s world famous Sugar Hill – Underground to celebrate the life and music of the late reggae icon.

It was Samini’s first-ever performance in the US throughout his career and was made possible by Boogie Down Nima Productions (BDNP), an agency charged with marketing Samini on the American market.

On March 14, Samini will continue his performances in the States, when he joins a host of other Ghanaian and African artistes in an explosive celebration of Ghanaian music and culture in New York City during the Ghana @52 Independence Day Celebration Concert.

Source: ThinkGhana.com