Oklahoma Greek Weekend (OKGW) started off with great events presented by the OKGW board in Oklahoma City, from August 16th – 18th. These events included a Kickoff Mixer and Skate Jam on Friday, hosted by Alexis Young of Channel 9 News. Celebrity comedian guest Desi Banks also arrived and took photographs with fans. Saturday’s event was the Oklahoma Greek Picnic at Scissortail Park, where mostly Langston students attended.
Most of the attendees were first time comers and got to experience a different setting and vibe. In addition, students had the opportunity to gain a scholarship.
Individuals at this event were excited for their first time experiencing a Greek picnic. Members of Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity, Inc. were setting up grilling in the tailgate parking lot. People were laughing, smiling, dancing, vlogging and enjoying their meals from all the food trucks that were present.
In the middle of this event Reggie Archibald II received his $1,000 scholarship funded by The Selfless Hands Foundation and OKGW foundation.
According to Archibald, “Some advice I would give to a student who never applied for scholarships would be to just apply yourself to every scholarship you qualify for because you never know… You might be the only one who applied. Also, oftentimes scholarships are relatively similar so you will get familiar with the questions they ask you as well.”
As Archibald is the first to receive the OKGP scholarship, he felt blessed to represent his fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and appreciates the opportunity. He believes that OKGP will expand over the next few years and will be a staple of what people look forward to every summer moving forward.
Strolling with the Greeks of Kappa Alpha Psi was London Brookins who’s also on the team of OKGW.
“So pretty much what happened was we started talking to other picnics in different states, seen how their vibe was and seen how Oklahoma didn’t really have anything, so we got together started talking like ‘Bro let’s bring a Greek Picnic to Oklahoma,’” he said. “So, we pretty much talked to the investors and got the right people in the city to bring it together.”
He said that learning from past situations while having a good approach to things seems to make things better.
Justin Gates, speaking for the OKGW instagram page, said, “The greatest challenge in pulling OKGW together would probably be closing deals. Negotiations from individuals and businesses. Sometimes people can be difficult to get in contact with. When you’re able to get in contact then comes negotiations and compromise which can take weeks/months and sometimes not result in what you were wishing for.”
Gates, who is a member of Beta Epsilon chapter of Beta Phi Sigma, Inc., said planning for the event started in late 2023/early 2024. While connecting with celebrity guests can be cool, it tends to be difficult at times, but the OKGP team has pulled it off.
Planning for the event was also assisted by Kadarius Griffin – Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (Nupe), Syd Scott – Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA), Cary Pittman – Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (Nupe), and Raven Crisp – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (Delta), all Greek members who played a big part in bringing this all together.
Photography by Saylessmedia_ on Instagram
Kylah Goff
Kylah Goff is a junior broadcast journalism major.
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