I’m So Greenwood is essentially a homecoming celebration, says its founder and organizer, Alfonso Gray.
“The concept for the event came from when every time I would come home I would miss a classmate and or a friend who once lived there also visiting,” said Gray, a former Greenwood resident who now lives in Chicago. “I just got tired of that and decided to come up with an idea where we would all come back home at same time and be at the same place until we are just tired of looking at each other.”
I’m So Greenwood is a tailgate-style picnic held in Whittington Park. This year’s event will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. It’s free and open to the public.
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The event will feature a live DJ, gospel and other performing acts with music for every generation attending and inflatables and activities for children.
“It’s basically a large family reunion,” said Gray.
Last year’s I’m So Greenwood event brought out more than 5,000 attendees to the park.
“It was overwhelming. It’s very surreal,” said Gray. “You see it, and you’re like ‘Wow.’ The work planning for it starts back in October or November, and to see it come full circle — it’s a bit humbling.”
Alfonso Gray is the founder and organizer of I'm So Greenwood.
When Gray began planning the first I’m So Greenwood event in 2015, he anticipated only about 200 or 300 people attending. He got the word out mainly through social media.
“We had 1,100 people who showed up the first year,” he said.
Those who attended posted pictures and raved about the fun they had at I’m So Greenwood on social media sites, such as Facebook and Instagram.
“It picked up wind, and the next year we ended up with over 3,000 people,” said Gray.
Aiyetoro Roy of Greenwood has attended the event each year and is already making plans for this Saturday’s festivities.
She said what’s most exciting about it to her is getting to spend time with family and friends she hasn’t seen in a long time.
“When you get there, you see so many people you haven’t seen since high school,” said Roy. “Now I’m 38, and I’ve been out of high school for 20 years. So you are just seeing people you haven’t seen in so long — my classmates from high school and elementary school. Everyone is just being together and having fun and reminiscing about old times and enjoying some good food.”
Roy said people begin coming to the park at 5 a.m. to set up tents and grills.
“At 5:30 a.m., there are already about 25 or 30 people out there setting up tents to make sure you get the spot that you want,” she said. “They start cooking early, too. Grills are already smoking at 6 o’clock in the morning.”
Gray said he usually comes to Greenwood on the Thursday before the gathering and will check out the park to make sure everything is prepped.
“When I get out there, I already see tape and signs up saying ‘Reserved,’” said Gray. “People are already marking their spots two and three days earlier.”
Dineka Freeman of Greenwood said she begins planning for the event in March.
“I go in with a friend, and we basically make a list of things we’d like to eat that day,” she said.
Her tent this year will include Freeman, her daughter, her friend’s family and some of their extended family members.
“We all pitch in, and I’ve already bought some things,” said Freeman. “We meet up the night before, and we go through it.”
Her friend’s husband wakes up early that morning to go set up the tent and grill and then begins cooking the meats. Freeman and her friend will bring the side dishes, drinks and refreshments.
Freeman said what she enjoys most about I’m So Greenwood is seeing smiles and feeling happy.
“You see joy on everybody’s face,” she said. “You feel the joy in Greenwood that day. You really do.”
The event features attendees of all ages.
This year, Roy is bringing her 92-year-old grandmother, Ruth Roy Johnson, who resides at Crystal Health and Rehab.
“She’ll be out there for a couple of hours that morning before it gets too hot,” she said.
Gray hopes to make I’m So Greenwood bigger and better each year. His dedication to it comes from his love for his hometown.
“I have a passion and love for home,” he said. “A lot of things charity-wise, I give back home, where I know it is needed.”
He said he thinks I’m So Greenwood has blown up into the large-scale event that it is now because of the notion of “being away so long and seeing somebody you haven’t seen since graduation that night at the Civic Center.”
“I think people just want to reminisce and remember Greenwood how we remember it growing up,” he said.
Freeman said the event brings people together who haven’t been home in years for fellowship.
“There’s a lot of love, laughter and just family, and you just feel the love that day,” she said. “It’s awesome. You forget about the heat that day. You’re just so happy to be among people you haven’t seen since childhood — old teachers, old friends, people from the neighborhood. It is a wonderful day.”
Gray said he has reached out to the Greenwood Police Department, the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department and the Mississippi Highway Patrol for officers to be present throughout the event.
“I just want to assure everybody we will be safe,” he said. “It will probably will be one of the safest places in Greenwood that weekend.”
Gray said the event has a limited amount of sponsors, and a lot of the money used to pay for permits, equipment and insurance for the event is raised through the sale of I’m So Greenwood T-shirts.
T-shirt orders have already been made, but anyone who would like a shirt mailed after the event can contact Gray.
For more information, email Gray at imsogreenwood@gmail.com.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
What: I’m So Greenwood family day in the park will be held.
When: 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Whittington Park
Details: The event is free and open to the public.
