As a norm, picnics are organized by various churches every Monday after the Easter festivities in most parts of the country.
This year, like many other years, there were picnics organized in most parts of the Upper East Region that afforded members of most churches the opportunity to socialize with their members, shake off the stress and prepare themselves for the coming weeks.
First point of call was the Bolgatanga Secondary School Park where the Ebenezer Methodist Church had converged for their picnic. Though the numbers were not convincing at the time of our visit, the members present were making merry. They engaged in various indoor and outdoor games such as ludo, playing cards, football, and sack race among others.
A participant, Albert Nyarko who spoke to a1radioonline.com mentioned that, the picnic affords them the opportunity to come together as a family of God to make merry adding that it grants them the platform to keep fit because most of them don’t have the time to exercise.
He indicated that although it was the Methodist Church that organized the program, it was opened to all who were interested in making the best of the day.
On the essence of Easter, he noted that Christianity in itself came as a result of the death of Christ for the people, so the occasion was an opportune time for Christians to have a sober reflection into their lives and try to right their wrongs.
The story was however not different at the Ramsey sports stadium in the Regional Capital, Bolgatanga. Members of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church had also converged at a picnic. This picnic like other ones invited people from all walks of life to come together as one family. One fascinating thing about this place was the grouping of some Ewes who treated themselves to some Borborbor and Agbaza tunes. Attendance here was somewhat impressive but some participants thought that comparing the turnout to last year, there was a massive dwindle in numbers.
At the Vea Dam in Bongo, there was the Assemblies of God church. The youth wing of the church had converged not only to make merry but also use the opportunity to baptize some of the youth. They engaged in various activities such as musical chairs which lit the place up!
In the Upper East Region, picnics were linked to churches but on the day, a ladies wing of the biggest opposition party, New Patriotic Party organized a massive picnic which was hugely patronized by its members. They made merry and danced to songs to grace the occasion.
A member who spoke to a1radioonline.com but wants to remain anonymous said they organized the picnic in order to come together as a single unit.
Thousands of revelers in the late hours of the day thronged to the Vea Dam where there was a climax of the Easter celebration. In what could best be described as a craze for fun, many engaged in various recreational activities amidst loud jamming by various groups. In what appeared to be a fight for glory, various spinning groups launched the loudest sound systems so as to catch the attention of patrons.
In all there was fun in the Upper East Region although attendance at the various picnic grounds had suffered drastic dwindling in numbers.
By: Offei-Akoto Ayeh | A1RADIOONLINE.com | GHANA
