About · Our Story
Our story
How a community celebration in Manchester grew into an annual festival, and what the committee is working towards next.
Beginnings
It started with families wanting the ceremony done properly
Igbo families in Greater Manchester had been marking the New Yam season privately for years, in homes, halls and church grounds. The festival began when a group of community leaders decided the ceremony deserved to be held in the open, on one day, with elders present and the whole community invited.
Since then the festival has grown each year through the work of volunteers, town unions and local sponsors. It has stayed free to attend wherever possible, because the point of Iriji is that nobody is left out of the sharing.
%20(1).webp){kind=tracking}
Vision and objectives
What the festival is for
PreserveKeep the Iriji ceremony, Igbo language, dress, music and etiquette alive and
practised in the United Kingdom.
Pass onGive children and young people born here a real experience of Igbo culture, led by
their own elders.
ShareOpen Igbo heritage to Manchester and to every other community in the city, in a way
that welcomes questions.
UniteBring town unions, associations and church communities onto one field for one shared
day.
SupportWork with local traders, performers and small businesses, and raise funds for
community causes.
RecordPhotograph, film and publish the festival so that the record of it belongs to the
community.