Posted by By J E Solomon
The United Ghanaian Associations in New Jersey will hold a grand summer picnic on Saturday, July 4, 2009 at the South Mountain Reservation Park in West Orange, New Jersey. Admission is free and all Ghanaians are cordially invited to attend.
Delicious Ghanaian foods of all kinds will be available. There will be music, drumming and dancing. No alcoholic drinks, however, will be permitted at the park.
Activities planned for the occasion include soccer, volleyball, table tennis, oware, ludo, draughts and chess. There will be games for children and competitive sports among the women of the various associations.
The picnic, dubbed the First Annual Grand Summer Picnic, will start from 9:00 in the morning and will bring together for the first time, over 14 different Ghanaian associations in New Jersey. Ghanaians in New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are expected to attend.
According to the organizers, the July 4th picnic will be an annual affair and it is aimed at bringing all Ghanaians together as a community for a common goal. The objectives of the United Ghanaian Associations are to foster unity, friendship and support among all Ghanaians. The UGA also seeks to use the annual picnic to enhance the Ghanaian traditional spirit of togetherness and to promote the well-being of members and non-members alike.
The various associations comprising the UGA are, The First Ghanaian Society of New Jersey, Kwahuman Association of NJ, The Ga-Adangbe Association of NJ, Brong Ahafo Association of NJ, Brothers and Sisters Association of NJ, Mfantseman Association of NJ, Friends Soccer Club of NJ, and Ghanaian Association of Southern NJ.
Others are Akyem Association of NJ, Mampong Kontonkyi Association of NJ, Okuapeman Association of NJ, New Jersey Ladies, Inc., Ghanaian Civic Association of NJ, Obuaseman Association of NJ, and the Ewe Association of NJ.
The South Mountain Reservation Park is located on Tulip Spring North/South Northfield Avenue in West Orange, New Jersey.