he Annual International Charles Town Maroon Conference & Festival is back. In its 16th iter‐
ation, it yet again presents us the opportunity to move into ceremony with our ancestors, our‐
selves and each other as we seek to show honour and respect to those who made major
contributions to the freedoms we enjoy today. This year the Ancestor Quao Day Celebration has
three very auspicious elements to it. One, it is the final day of the Conference & Festival, a
fitting reminder to us that this life is about positioning ourselves to, in our final moments make
that great leap into ancestorship. Two, it also falls on the day of the Conference, traditionally
celebrated as Victory Day and three, this Sunday, June 23, 2024 is a sacred day on the calendar
of the Akan people from whom Quao came. On this sacred day, Akan people, at home in coun‐
tries in West Africa and in the diaspora, who still participate in the ways of their ancestors, come
together as community to make offerings, drum, sing, dance, play the bells, make libations and
call on God, the deities and their ancestors to give thanks and receive many blessings. A cele‐
bration of life
