Top 8 Popular Events In Ghana

Ghana has been a center of attraction since the first Europeans arrived on Ghanaian soil. What attracted the Europeans to Africa in those days was the natural and human resources. 

Nowadays, what most attracts Europeans, diasporans, or visitors to Ghana is tourism, repatriation, relocation, and commerce. With the exception of tourism, the next big thing that assembles visitors to Ghana is the all-year-round events or festivals.

Top 8 Events In Ghana

1. PANAFEST (late July - August)

Drama about the slave trade during PANAFEST

PANAFEST means the Pan African Historical Theatre Festival, it was first initiated in the 1980s but it came to fruition in 1992. The idea was coined by W.E Dubois a Pan-Africanist but it was the late Efua Sutherland who considered it to become a cultural event for bringing Africans in the diaspora and on the continent together to share a common heritage after the slave Trade that dwindled the human and natural resources of Africa.

The event is held every two years to highlight one of the diabolic acts in human history. The PANAFEST is characterized by celebrations of Emancipation Day, Poetry, symposium, musical and dance performances, theater arts, and commemorative visits to Cape Coast Castle, Elmina Castle, Assin Manso Ancestral Slave River, Salaga Slave Market, Accra James Town, and other places in Ghana that played critical roles in the development of slavery beginning in the 15th century and lasted for over 400 years.

Since the inception of  PANAFEST, it has attracted Africans, Caribbeans, and those in the American countries, as well as dignitaries from other African countries. During the Ghana Year of Return events, thousands of diasporans converged in Ghana to pay homage to their ancestors and also to know the ordeal the Africans who were captured as slaves went through.

PANAFEST is now a pilgrimage most diasporans embark on to know their root or bloodline. It also gives them the platform to learn from their brothers and sisters in Africa.

2. Cape Coast Fetu Afahye ( late August to 1st Saturday of September)

Oguaa Fetu Afahye

Fetu Afahye and the PANAFEST are like twin festivals because the PANAFEST sometimes coincides with the Fetu Afahye. What makes it different is that PANAFEST comes on every two years while the Fetu Afahye happens annually.

The Fetu Afahye is celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Cape Coast traditional area and other rural communities in the Central region of Ghana. The event is characterized by a durbar of chiefs, drumming and dancing, processions of chiefs, and "Asafo Companies" (traditional warrior groups) through the principal street, displaying traditional regalia, and carnivals.

According to legend, there was a plague that was killing the Fanti's, upon consulting their gods and native doctors, they were told to do away with dirt or clean all filth from their environs. 

After doing what the gods prescribed, the strange plague stopped, and the people initiated the Fetu festival to commemorate that day. The word Fe-tu means" removing dirt or doing away with dirt" and Afa-hye means " adorning new clothes".

3. December in Ghana-Afrochella ( Dec. 27- 3rd Jan.)

Afrochella in Ghana

December in Ghana is like a jamboree land because December has been intertwined with events in Ghana. Thus masquerade carnivals, Afrochella, and a whole lot of events.

Afrochella is a music festival that falls on the 27th of December, the event is the idea of Abdul Karim Abdullah and his colleagues, it was initiated to beef up events during Christmas. This event brings thousands of stars, celebrities, music artists, DJs, and Fans from Africa and the world together. 

The Afrochella event takes place at the El-Wak Sport Studium. It mostly starts from the night till daybreak. It is really a day used to celebrate Africa's diverse culture and lifestyle, cuisine, and creativity.

4. Chale-Wote Street Arts Festival ( August 12-21)

Calewote festival

The Chale-Wote festival is one of the best street art festivals in Africa, It is a platform that brings fashion, art, music, dance, and performance out into the streets of Accra, Ghana. 

The event is characterized by graffiti murals exhibitions, live street performances, street painting, photo exhibitions, theatre, skating shows, a food bazaar, photography, extreme sports, a Cinema pavilion, street boxing, a fashion display, music, and a whole loads of funfairs.

It is celebrated across some selected streets of Accra such as James Town, Osu, Nima, and other noted streets.

5. Kwahu Easter (April Easter Day)

Kwahu Easter Paragliding

This event is an Easter festivity which is originally a Western or a Christian festival but in Ghana and in Kwahu in the Eastern Region of Ghana, it's a festival. It is packed with homecoming celebrations, carnivals, traditional pouring of libation, paragliding, hiking, and street jams.

This event is now a tourism event that attracts hundreds of people from Ghana and other parts of the world. The Kwahu Easter falls in April during the Easter festivities.  

6. Takoradi Maquerade Carnival (24-26 Dec.)

Takoradi westside carnival

December in Takoradi is becoming very popular for some years now. In Takoradi, they call Masquerade or Fancy dress "Ankos". It is one of the popular events during December in Ghana. The highlight of this event is Kofi King Atta's Made In Taadi Concerts.

The event is celebrated by the people of Sekondi Takoradi and its vicinity. Just like the Kwahu Easter, Christmas is a Christian event but in Takoradi, it is otherwise. It is an event that brings a lot of Takoradisters home from every part of the world and the country. It also attracts a lot of people from around the world.

The activities during the event include a street carnival, street jams, masquerade processions, Masquerade competitions, parties and Made In Taadi Concert.

7. Winneba Masquerade Festival ( Dec. 26-1st Jan.)

Winneba Masquerade Carnival

Winneba is a very popular town in Ghana not only because of its remarkable Aboakyir festival but also has one of the longest and most popular Masquerade or Fancy Dress events in Africa. 

Winneba is the first place in Ghana that started the Fancy Dress or Masquerade carnival and parades on Christmas during the colonial era. The activities during this event is highlighting colorful fancy dresses with different kinds of masks representing notable faces in the world, animals, etc.

According to sources, the events started in 1924 when the West Indian regimental bands stationed at Cape Coast and Elmina influenced brass band music played by well-trained Ghanaian musicians. 

As a result, the Fanti musicians created a local proto-highlife known as ‘adaha’ which subsequently added impetus to the dance forms of the masquerade in Winneba and in Ghana today.

8. Asa Baako Music Festival (4th-8th March)

Asa baako music festival Busua, Takoradi

This festival is also gaining popularity across Africa and in the world. The event brings together a line-up of DJs from across Ghana, West Africa, and around the world.

Asa Baako is an Akan word, means "One Dance". It is celebrated in one of the ancient towns in Ghana Busua where the Busua beach is located in the Western Region of Ghana.

The event comes on annually and is held for five days and four nights. The program lineup includes Live music, sound systems, parties, open-mics, surfing, treks, tours, yoga, Agorobaako - One play beach games, competitions and activities, beach football & volleyball tournaments, Asa Baako Changemakers talks and conservation workshops, BBQs, boat trips and Jungle Party.