Manchester Igbo Iriji Festival

Celebrating Igbo Culture

Iriji, the Igbo New Yam Festival, in the heart of Manchester. A day of thanksgiving, ceremony, music, dance and food, open to every family.

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Festival Date

Time

Venue

LocationManchester, United Kingdom

WELCOME TO IRIJI

The first yam of the season, shared with the whole community

Iriji is the Igbo New Yam Festival. It marks the end of the farming season and the moment when the first yams of the harvest may be eaten. Yam is the king of crops in Igbo land, so the day begins with thanksgiving to Chukwu, prayers led by elders, and the breaking and sharing of yam.

In Manchester the festival carries the same meaning. Families travel from across Greater Manchester and the rest of the United Kingdom to give thanks, greet elders, wear traditional dress, and pass the customs of home to children who are growing up here.

Everyone is welcome. You do not need to be Igbo to join us, only curious and ready to celebrate.

Official Manchester Igbo Iriji Festival 2026 Event Poster Flyer

Official 2026 Event Flyer

Official 2026 Festival Poster Flyer

The official poster flyer for Manchester Igbo Iriji Festival 2026. Share with your family, town unions, and community groups across the UK.

Date: Saturday 5th September 2026

Time: 11:00 AM

Location: Platt Fields Park, Manchester, M14

view full flyer

Four Pillars of Iriji

Festival, Real Highlights

Welcome to a richer cultural festival experience. Whether you are joining for the sacred yam ceremony, rhythmic masquerade dance, authentic cuisine, or kindred fellowship—choose your path below:

Two women in green and blue gele with coral beads

Culture & Tradition

The blessing of the new yam, sacred prayers by elders, coral beads, and isiagu worn with ancestral pride.

Cultural dancer performing on the festival field

Music & Dance

Ogene drummers, traditional dance troupes, live masquerade performance, and music until dusk.

Elders holding gold baskets of yam at a table

Food & Cuisine

Roasted and pounded yam, ji akwukwo, ugba, authentic nkwobi, smoky jollof, and small chops from local food stalls.

Families and children gathered together at the festival

Community & Kin

Town unions, women's & youth networks, diaspora kindred, and neighbours connecting in celebration.

Festival Countdown

Counting down to Iriji

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Programme Preview

How festival day unfolds

Times are indicative and editable until the running order is signed off.

12:00Gates open and cultural marketTraders, craft stalls and community stands open as guests arrive and greet.Main fieldOpen to all

13:30Opening prayer and welcomeThe chair welcomes guests, followed by prayers and a word from invited dignitaries.Main stageSpeaker to be confirmed

14:30Iriji ceremony: blessing and breaking of the yamElders bless the new yam, share it with the gathering and open the eating of the harvest.Main stageLed by elders

15:30Cultural dance and masqueradeTown unions and cultural troupes perform, with drumming and masquerade display.Main fieldTroupes to be confirmed

18:00Live music and closingLive performance, presentations and thanks before the field closes for the evening.Main stageArtist to be confirmed

Masquerade performer with carved mask, drummers behind

More Than a Festival

Culture is kept by being practised

A festival is how a community rehearses itself. When elders bless the yam in Manchester, when a child hears Igbo spoken by hundreds of people at once, when a town union dances in matching wrapper, the culture is not being remembered. It is being lived.

Language and custom passed to children born in the United Kingdom.

Town unions, women's groups and youth groups brought together on one field.

Igbo heritage shared openly with Manchester and its many other communities.

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