UC Davis Picnic Day

Picnic Day, the annual Open House for the University of California, Davis, will feature more than 200 events throughout the campus and an estimated 75,000+ visitors attending this special event. This long-standing campus tradition began in 1909 when the University Farm invited the surrounding community to view their new dairy barn. Two thousand attended, bringing picnics to complement the coffee, cream, and sugar provided by the University. Following the success of the 1909 picnic, the faculty of the University Farm continued to plan and sponsor the event until a student committee took over the task in 1912. In the years that have transpired since then, the event has expanded to the point that preparations begin the previous June with the onset of the academic year. Classes were canceled the day before Picnic Day in 1935 so that students could help prepare for the event. Unfortunately, this did not remain as one of the many Picnic Day traditions!