Sankofaonline’s article, Chicago’s Summer Symphony: A Celebration of Culture, is straight to the point! For over thirty-five years since the Ghana-fest was started, this August community event we fondly call “The Ghanafest” had never been canceled, not even in the year 1989. Around the spring of that year, it was revealed that the Secretary General of the Ghana National Council, the Rev. Kweku Lartey, had departed suddenly to Ghana for good. The Ghana National Council was left without a leader and was, therefore, disintegrating. Ghana-fest, as we fondly call it today, had started as a Ghanaian community picnic a few years back and was a few months away, and as the days were fast approaching, the community was getting anxious and nervous and did not know what to do to organize the next Ghanaian community picnic.
A meeting was therefore organized to see how best to salvage the situation. I had just been appointed the President of the Ewe Association of Chicago! Thus, myself, our late Togbe Venya, Mr. Kodzo Adigbli, Mrs. Patience Adigbli, Mrs. Comfort Kokuma, and sometimes Tsame Kojo Ntow were chosen to represent the Ewe Association at those and other follow-up meetings. Mr. Ben Lartey, Mr. Eddie Quartey, and Mr. Sowah Botwei represented the Ga Adangbe Association. Also representing other organizations were Alhaji Baba Cisse, who was then the Assistant Secretary-General to Rev Kweku Lartey, Alhaji Wahabi Tigani, and sometime Aljahi Okoe, all representing the Haske Society. Other members who attended those GNC reorganization meetings were Nana Godfried Annang and Mr. Steven Somuah of Kwahu United. Mr Boafo Papafio, Mr. Martin Bonsu, and Nana Sana Darko of the Okwapeman Fekuw, Nana Kwabena Osei Abbrebese and Nana Wiafe of the Asanteman Association, Mr Joe Danso and Dr. McKwateng of the Akyeman Association, Nana Kwabena Koranteng and Mrs. Adelaide Grant-Acquah of the Fante Benevolent Society. We would meet most weekends at different locations to discuss and find solutions.
Finally, we were able to prevail and found a solution and therefore resurrected the Ghana National Council from collapsing and thereafter appointed Alhaji Baba Cisse as the next Secretary General and thus were able to organize the Ghanafest in 1990. The organizing spirit of not allowing the Ghanafest to collapse urged us on. I remember the cash balance in the Ghana National Council’s account was $54.00. However, this account balance did not deter us from organizing the festival. First, a Ghanafest Organizing committee was formed, comprising the members I listed earlier to help the Secretary-General in planning the 1990 Ghanafest. I was elected as the first Financial Secretary of the Ghana National Council. Although the Council’s account balance was only $54.00, we remained focused on ensuring that Ghanafest would not fail.
The committee headed by the Secretary-General, Alhaji Baba Cisse, visited the Chicago City Mayor’s office to acquaint ourselves with the processes and procedural way of obtaining a permit and the support in organizing a city’s outdoor event. At the Mayor’s office, we were directed to see the head of the Mayor’s Office of Special Events for help. We laid our cards on the table at the Mayor’s office for the special event. We briefed the Director about the festival’s objectives — about how it was an educational program to educate the American public about the Ghanaian Thanksgiving service and that the Thanksgiving process involved a parade of chiefs dressed elegantly in our traditional Kente adorned with various African paraphernalia. After the briefing, the Director got excited and promised the city’s help. The city, therefore, agreed to foot some of the organizing costs, like the canopies, the generator for lighting the place up and for the music, etc. After the City of Chicago meeting, we prepared a Ghanafest budget. We visited the various Ghana National Council organizations at their monthly meetings to discuss the program and its cost elements with them.
Therefore, the fact that the Ghana National Council did not have the organizing money was not a factor. Still, the spirit behind the festival was the motivating factor, and the fact that the community had seen the previous events and would not like it to fail was the driving force behind our motivations. On like the current environment, the chief MC, Hon Boafo Papafio, and others assisting MCs for all those years that they emceed at the Ghanafest did not charge the community a dime. We did not bring musicians from Ghana; instead, we relied on our local DJs to provide the music for the festival. When you have no money, you cut your coat according to size. Why import musicians from Ghana at a cost of $20,000 to $30,000 when you can engage our local DJs at less than $1,000 per night? No brainier on this issue! We don’t have to fence the park’s perimeter if we cannot afford it! The food and other vendors are ready to attend if we engage them and make some money off them! All we need is to bring them in! So you see, the whole idea of planning an event is budgeting. You budget and cut your expenses in accordance with what you can afford. You don’t speculate on the budget for an event without seeing the actual cost elements and make adjustment to your cost elements.
The executive of the Ghana National Council was silent on other speculations; however, we all know what the issue is! If you cancel the Ghanafest in 2025, then you might as well project canceling it in the next four years because the political environment in the United States is not going to change in the next four years. Instead, you work around your mitigating issues that are enabling you to come out with bad alternatives or missteps! Your advice to those without the legal authority to be in the United States is to stay away from public places where they would be exposing themselves instead of canceling programs like the Ghana Independence Day Celebration and the very important Ghanafest cultural show. After all, we still organize other weekly events like Funerals, Weddings, and Birthday parties!
Therefore, I would support not canceling. However, if the idea of suggesting the cancellation is due to budgetary mandates, then we should find ways and means of proposing an affordable and cost-effective budgetary estimate that eliminates frivolous cost elements.
Thanks for hearing me out!
Clement D. Timpo
Former Financial Secretary and President of the Ghana National Council
Careful budgeting is essential, as the article points out. By trimming unnecessary costs and making the most of local resources, Ghanafest can continue to be a lively and meaningful celebration of Ghanaian culture without straining finances. Relying on food vendors and other contributors to generate revenue is a smart and practical approach that aligns with the festival’s community-driven nature.
GNC.. please respond. Am sure your PR will come out. Very necessary!
Since PR was called out. GNC will NOT respond to everyone’s opinion! GNC have not been asked for any interview by any news outlet. No one is gonna bully us make respond to everyone’s opinion., especially on WhatsApp. This is America, anyone can write what they want. It’s not gonna change the fact that majority of the Affiliates voted to cancel GhanaFest. Any questions, kindly ask the president of GNC or your affiliate you are associated with. They were at the ALL of the meetings.
Has the GNC ever bothered to respond to *any* opinion before, or are we setting a new precedent here? For the record, are press conferences now the sole, sacred channel for addressing community concerns? Fascinating logic—especially when these very ‘opinions’ challenge the foundation of the decision to cancel.
And, while we’re at it, if the president is the one-man spokesperson for a *nonprofit organization*, then what exactly is the purpose of the PRO? A ceremonial title for appearances? An honorary position with no real function? Surely, answering questions and addressing concerns from the community falls squarely under your responsibilities—or have we decided to rewrite the playbook entirely? These are genuine questions that demand serious consideration. After all, transparency and accountability aren’t optional for an organization claiming to serve its community. Let’s also not lose sight of the bigger issue. As a community, have we strayed so far off-course that ignorance now fuels irresponsible and dismissive responses? It’s high time we thought beyond rigid frameworks. Is WhatsApp not a medium of communication? Or Is the article on WhatsApp ? Or is it only acceptable when it conveniently serves specific agendas then the GNC can use WhatsApp to disseminate it’s information ? Sad !
One other comment not mentioned in my article is that by canceling a major community event because of the political atmosphere, it gives the impression that majority of Ghanaian and for that matter Africans are living in the United States illegally and are therefore going into hiding for the fear of being apprehended by the law!
What a sad situation and embarrassing atmosphere to live in!
A rejoinder to my own article.
Clement D Timpo
I am a member of the counsil. It is always a few members who push issues on us. They did not give even we them members a choice bec they said they cannot have the festival this year because of the raids going on. When some people questioned them they said because of money issues. Later some of them said they were tired. They did not present anything to give us analysis like a budget, etc. as you stated to make an informed decision. The same children reason they gave us and cancelled Ghana independence celrbrations. We go to funerals every weekend but they told us ice will come to arrest us. They dont know what they are doing period sir.