Igbozue Connecticut USA Celebrates 2026 Summer Family Picnic
Ohio Pen/10336724

NORTH HAVEN, Conn. - OhioPen -- On Saturday, Igbozue Connecticut, USA, held its 2026 Summer Family Picnic at Wharton Brook Park in North Haven, Connecticut. About 100 members, their families, and friends gathered for the annual celebration of community and Igbo culture.

The Igbo, one of Nigeria's major ethnic groups, have a rich cultural tradition centered on family, community, language, and collective identity. Igbozue—loosely expressing the idea, "If only all Igbo men could gather and speak with one voice"—is a Connecticut-based nonprofit organization that supports its members and Igbo communities in Nigeria.

The formal event began with the breaking of the kolanut, an important symbol of welcome, hospitality, and unity in Igbo culture. Rain and storms had threatened the picnic the day before, but, as one member put it, the weather—perhaps under the intercession of the Igbo ancestors invoked through the kolanut—"behaved itself."

More on Ohio Pen

• Phinge CEO DeMaio Unveils Speech to Congress: User Data Sovereignty vs Tech Surveillance Capitalism, Asserting Foundational 2021 App-Less Patents & IP
• Michael Maertens Hired as Century Fasteners Corp. – Chief Financial Officer
• Built to Last: Why BSI Is Among the Nation's Fastest-Growing Companies, and One of Its Best Places to Work
• Bent Danholm's The Architecture of Demand Reaches No. 2 in Amazon Real Estate Sales
• Contracting Resources Group Named to Inc. 5000 for the Ninth Time

Soon, the pavilion and surrounding grounds came alive. Children and adults played soccer, table tennis, and the entertaining "pull a bottle by the rope" game. Men sang old Igbo folk songs and played the ogene and gongs as guests mingled and danced.

Under a tree across from the pavilion, members of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses in North America (NANNNA) offered blood pressure checks. Nearby, a man in an upturned brown cowboy hat handed out raffle tickets.

And there was food—plenty of it. Tables were filled with jollof rice, fried plantains, puff-puff, pepper soup, beef, fish, egusi soup, and other delicacies, while fresh corn, meat, and hot dogs sizzled on the grill.

The picnic also provided an opportunity to pass Igbo language and culture to younger generations. Youths learned expressions such as Bịa—come; Bịa ebe a—come here; and Biko, bịa ebe a—please, come here. A woman in a blue ichafu praised the effort while expressing concern about the declining use of Igbo among younger generations.

More on Ohio Pen

• ImagineX Named to 2026 Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies
• ASSIST Software Becomes One of the First European Companies Certified to ISO/IEC 42001
• The World's No.1 Superstar® Enters the Occult with New Track and Cinematic Visual "Under Your Spell"
• PricZone Launches Online Shopping Platform Offering Electronics, Gaming, and More
• Heritage at South Brunswick Introduces New Ferndale Floorplan: The Largest Single-Family Home Design in the Community

Igbozue President Mr. Ike Chukwurah said supporting members in the United States and communities in Igboland remains central to the organization's mission.

Toward the end, Secretary Chief Tony Madu encouraged Igbo men living in Connecticut who have not joined Igbozue to become members. Raffle winners then received gift cards, books, plaques, and other donated prizes.

More than food and fun, the picnic celebrated family, friendship, culture, language, service, and community—strengthening bonds in Connecticut while keeping alive connections to Igboland thousands of miles away.

Here are books by Dr. Anyoha