Bakatue Festival is celebrated by the chiefs and peoples of Elmina in the Central region of Ghana. The festival, established at least as far back as 1847, is celebrated on the first Tuesday in the month of July every year.
The festival is used to mark the beginning of the fishing season in Elmina. The name Bakatue is got from the Fante dialect which translates as draining of a lagoon. The celebration of the festival was instituted to commemorate the founding of Elmina by the Portuguese in the early days of the colonization of the then Gold Coast. It also is used to offer thanks and prayers to the gods for a good fishing year.
The colorful festival, themed, “Time to promote Ghana’s trade potentials is now. Patronize Ghana made goods” also brought together a huge and beautiful spectacle of chiefs, queen mothers, priests, foreigners, and an excited and exuberant crowd, who have come from far and near to witness the biggest festival in the central region.