Hotel arrival & check-in
All day
SF Airport Marriott Waterfront
Group-rate rooms under the INC-USA block. Free 24/7 SFO shuttle; discounted self-parking $18/day for delegates.
§ Labor Day Weekend · September 4–6, 2026
Convention schedule.
Three days of unity, transparency, and celebration. All times Pacific (PT).
§ Day 1
Friday · September 4, 2026
Registration & Welcome Night · Oldies Edition
Delegates arrive and check in, leadership meets, and the weekend opens with the Welcome Reception — dress like it's the '70s!
Registration & badge pick-up
2:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Grand Ballroom Registration Desk
Collect your programme, badge, and Cultural Passport. Apparel vendors are set up across from the desk.
Executive Committee meeting
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Exco only
Board of Directors meeting
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
San Ramon Room · Exco & Regional Presidents
Welcome Reception · Meet & Greet · Oldies Night
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Grand Ballroom Salons A–D
Opened by the Vice President, Mr. Lovelance Sagay. 7:15 icebreaker networking and chapter introductions · 7:30 the Cultural Passport Challenge (quiz, stamps, selfies & raffle entries) · 8:00 the Oldies dance floor — Old School, Afropop classics & '70s grooves · 9:00 Best-Dressed of the '70s Soul Train line with cash prizes · 9:30 passport raffle draw. Hors d'oeuvres and a premium cash bar all evening.
§ Day 2
Saturday · September 5, 2026
Convention Day & Gala · A Think Tank for the Itsekiri Nation
The morning is the intellectual session — keynotes and four working groups. The afternoon is the business session — the Communiqué, the Constitution, and elections. Then the Gala.
Registration desk opens
8:00 AM
Grand Ballroom Registration Desk
Opening prayer · National anthems · Regions roll call
9:00 AM – 9:30 AM
Grand Ballroom Salon E
Itsekiri, U.S., and Nigerian anthems, then the session opens with the regions roll call and the day's goal: the 2026 Convention Communiqué. Welcome speech by the National President.
Keynotes · Mr. Otse Amorighoye & Mr. Ade Mabo
9:45 AM – 10:40 AM
Grand Ballroom Salon E
"Year Two Begins the Construction" — the charge to the working groups (Otse Amorighoye, 9:45) and "Bridging and Building Iwere Land" (Ade Mabo, 10:15). Break & networking 10:40.
Working groups · four rooms, four pillars
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Grand Ballroom Salons G · H · I · J
Salon G: Health & Community Wellbeing · Salon H: Culture, Language & the Next Generation · Salon I: Education & Human Capital · Salon J: Economic Development & Accountability. Each group returns three resolutions — what, who, by when, cost.
Lunch & fellowship
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Grand Ballroom Salons A–D
Roasted Peruvian chicken, bistec encebollado, fried sweet plantains, rice and peas, seasonal salad — vegetarian and gluten-free options. Rapporteurs consolidate the draft Communiqué over lunch.
The Business Session · Communiqué · Constitution · Elections
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Grand Ballroom Salon E
1:00 reports from the working groups and adoption of the 2026 Convention Communiqué · 1:40 ratification of the Constitution · 2:10 elections of national officers, conducted by the Patrons & Matrons · 2:55 closing prayer. Free time 3–6 PM to prepare for the Gala.
Gala Night · Red carpet & cocktail reception
6:00 PM
Grand Ballroom Foyer · Traditional attire
Arrival photos, premium cash bar, and the Year Two Pledge Wall opens. Doors open 7:00 PM — pledge cards and giving envelopes at every table.
Welcome dance · MC Patrick Doyle opens · Cultural performances
7:15 PM – 8:30 PM
Grand Ballroom
7:15 the cultural troupe receives guests the Iwere way · 7:25 MC Patrick Doyle opens with a welcome by Chief Williams Ejuwa, Host Regional President · 7:35 opening prayer and toast to His Majesty, Ogiame Atuwatse III · 7:40 cultural performances, first set. Guest appearance by actor Mofe Duncan.
Gala dinner · INC Awards · Fundraising appeal
8:30 PM – 9:40 PM
Grand Ballroom
Three-course plated dinner (pan-seared chermoula chicken or pan-seared salmon) · the Itsekiri National Congress Awards presented over dessert — Torchbearer, Pillar of Iwere, and Community Impact · fundraising appeal led by the Host Region · first dance opened by the Exco & Regional Presidents.
Cultural performances · Edwint LIVE · Dancing
10:15 PM – 1:00 AM
Grand Ballroom
10:15 cultural performances, second set · 10:30 fundraising spotlight · 11:15 EDWINT LIVE — the headline performance of the night · last dances with the DJ · vote of thanks from Vice President Lovelance Sagay with the night's giving total.
§ Day 3
Sunday · September 6, 2026
Excursions & Closing
Breakfast and remembrance, then the San Francisco Bay Area excursion — Golden Gate, scenic drive, picnic — and the closing meeting of the Board.
Breakfast · Morning reflection & remembrance
8:00 AM – 9:20 AM
Hotel
Breakfast 8:00–8:45, then a morning reflection honoring those we lost this year.
Buses depart for the Bay Area city tour
9:30 AM
Flag poles in front of the hotel · board 15 min early
10:30 Golden Gate Bridge photo stop — group photos with #INCUSA2026 · 12:00 scenic drive past the Palace of Fine Arts and the waterfront.
Picnic & fellowship
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Bay Area park
Shaded seating, music & games, picnic meal. 4:00 PM closing remarks from INC-USA leadership — see you in 2027!
Buses return to the hotel
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Hotel lobby
Closing Board meeting
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
San Ramon Room · Board members only
Farewells & departures
Evening
Free 24/7 SFO shuttle
Schedule subject to change.
Times are confirmed with the hotel but may shift slightly during the weekend — watch the “Happening now” strip on every convention page. Closed meetings are marked “Board members only”.
§ Register & plan
Lock in your seat — then plan your weekend.
Everything in one place: the souvenir brochure with the full programme, speakers, anthems, and partners — plus the know-before-you-go guide for the weekend.