All is now set for the 2022 Igbo World Festival of Arts and Culture holding from July 29th to 30th 2022 in the US, according to the president of Council of Igbo States in the Americas, Engr James Ogbuka.
The festival, which is the 9th Igbo World Festival of Arts organised by CISA, will be hosted at the Frontier Cultural Museum Igbo West Africa Village, Staunton Virginia, USA, the organisers said in a release signed by Chief Mathias Mgbeafulu, CISA’s director of media and publicity.
Engr Ogbuka, in the release, reiterated the readiness of CISA’s Board of Trustees, led by Dr Nwachukwu Anakwenze; the Governing Council and the festival committee for the historic event.
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He said, “People travelling from Jamaica, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, Nigeria, Canada and continental USA will be in attendance.”
THE WHISTLER gathered that the theme of the event is ‘Reconnecting in Time and Space’.
The festival helps in facilitating the joyful reunion of DNA tested African-Americans with their African relatives after being separated by time, distance and space dating back to the slave trade era, the organisers said.
The release stated further, “Thanks to DNA testing that has provided a growing number of people to trace their ancestry to locations in Igbo land and other parts of Africa, many of whom wish to reunite with their ancestral kindred.
“CISA has helped many to do just that. The Reconnection as Ticha Akuma Kalu Njoku has posited tells the story of Igbos separated from their homelands through slavery and resettlement in America; and how African-American descendants of these Igbos are tracing their roots back to their ancestral homes and reconnecting with their living relatives.”
The organiser said the purpose of the festival ‘is not only to unite and felicitate with Ndigbo people, all Nigerians, and their friends from all walks of life, but also for the educational experience that provides insights into Igbo-Nigerian culture by way of arts, dances, cuisine, fashion and songs.”
He added, “With the festival, we express the uniqueness of Igbo/Nigerian heritage and the share of commonalities in art, language, music, architecture, history and culture.
“The event is a bridge that allows all to come together and learn from one another through unity, happiness, and stewardship of the things that unite us not only as Africans but also as members of the global community.”