The Divine Nine stroll into Atlanta Greek Picnic weekend

It’s that time of year again – fraternities and sororities came to Atlanta from a number of states across the country to be a part of arguably one of the world’s biggest Greek picnics.

The Atlanta Greek Picnic (AGP), founded in 2004, is a yearly summer event that has attracted more than 350,000 Divine Nine members, quickly gaining popularity since it’s inception. The picnic -- really the entire weekend -- is a time of “unity, networking and creating memories that last a lifetime.”

This year was no different, as Access Atlanta was on site to witness the magic of the picnic. “We just had the vision of bringing young Black fraternity and sorority members together,” AGP Founder, Tiwa Works, told Access Atlanta. And that’s exactly what Works created – the Divine 9, made up of the nine historically Black Greek letter organizations, came out to stroll, dance and fellowship on the Morris Brown College campus this past weekend.

AKAs during Atlanta Greek Picnic

Vicky Ro, Access Atlanta

The Q's at Atlanta Greek Picnic

Vicky Ro, Access Atlanta

Deltas at Atlanta Greek Picnic

Vicky Ro, Access Atlanta

AGP weekend is about more than just a picnic. Works and those involved pride themselves on being able to help the community throughout the weekend as well. “This morning, right before the picnic, as tradition, we did a community service project,” Works said. “We actually had three happen simultaneously. We had Hashtag Lunch Bag, which is feeding the homeless, we had a project with a middle school to help them out as they were in need and we also had one with Washington Park Conservatory, cleaning up and helping with the beautification of our parks and stuff in the city.”

In addition to helping the community, the picnic is also able to help smaller businesses in the area by letting them sell merchandise at the picnic. The AGP is also said to have an estimated $25 million economic impact each year.