As an alumni I hold Picnic Day close to my heart, for in my four years of undergraduate this day never failed to bless me with libations, fun, and pleasant memories. I mean for a lot of students Picnic Day is an excuse to wake up with beer and to fall asleep sloshed. To the event itself, though, this is a fun-for-all day where you can wander about the sprawling UCD campus to find a countless number of activities ranging from a cow-milking experience (you haven't lived until you've milked a cow) to a dachshund race. On the main campus quad you will find a variety of student-run food offerings (quite tasty might I add) as well as a number of live performances. Or you can simply chill and sunbathe on the lavish campus green! Beyond the campus proper is really an entirely different scene as the normally quiet and reserved Davis atmosphere is awash with boozed revelers lurching about the downtown area. Driving is not recommended unless you find a forty minute crawl down a one mile stretch enjoyable then go for it. Moreover, downtown is best avoided unless you are all for the bar scene and enjoy people who live, at least for the one Picnic Day, with complete abandon. read more

Okay, maybe I'm extremely biased because I have worked for Picnic Day for three years now, but come on, there is something amazing about having the nation's largest student run event on your campus. And there's something amazing about sixteen undergraduates as directors, with four or so assistants each, all of whom make this one day happen. It's a lot of work. But it's our annual open house, so this is really what our school is all about. Highlights are the animal events, amazing exhibits, the entertainment, and of course, the parade, which kicks off the event. I would minus points for the students who seem determined to make sure that Picnic Day is cancelled, but I'm too proud of the work that my peers and I have accomplished. read more

-Read on a shirt of a passerby: "I am Sofa King Tonight" -Read on another shirt (sleeveless): "Suns Out, Guns Out" -Maggot Art (pretty much what is sounds like), the Chemistry Club Magic Show, Doxie Derby, Battle of the Bands. -Gorgeous weather. -And let's not forget the drunken deluge of 20-something-year-olds bizzarely attracted to my dog, one Roxie the Pug. WELCOME TO PICNIC DAY 2010. Like most reviewers I'm a little biased because of my alumni status. Davis after all is not exactly what you'd call "exciting". It was barely tolerable as an undergrad and yet year in and year out, I find myself making a yearly trek back for the wonder that is Picnic Day. How this town, cradled between nothingness (Dixon) and wiggeddy-whackness (Sacramento), manages to balance debauchery and wholesomeness for one magical day a year is something I don't question. Picnic Day just is. Minus one star for 2 exhibits being closed an hour before the scheduled time. :( read more

The most crackin' day of the year in Davis. Good for families, groups of friends or couples. Don't expect things to be crazy organized. Things are generally under control but you kind of just have to chill and find your way around. The food is decent but mostly cooked by frat boys. There are some good performances you can check out too. Tons of booze so just know this is an event purely to mess around and have a good time. read more

So many hours wasted. So many brain cells lost. My question now as an alumni is, when am I too old to indulge in Picnic Day?! My experiences on Picnic Day have ranged from actually being involved with events on campus (tabling on the Quad, getting up at 4am to march in the parade through pouring rain), visiting the booths/open houses all around the campus, and doing the right thing and drinking like crazy until I'm begging someone to take me to Jack in the Box. There are many different ways to enjoy Picnic Day, so you can certainly find yours! I would recommend getting up early and spending the day with friends drinking. A visit to campus to check out the Dachshund Derby (so cute and ridiculous when intoxicated) and pick up some food (Sam's schwarma!) will round out an excellent day. If you're a UCD student, you gotta do it at least once...and hopefully you'll do it every year during your stay in Davis!!! read more

Picnic Day is truly the essence of Davis in Spring. It makes me so proud to be going to school here. PD is pretty overwhelming and there's a lot to do and see and it's impossible to get around to almost everything. I must admit the highlights of last year was being able to keep 10 ladybugs though :P I just kept going back to the ladybug booth...and she kept giving me ladybugs! It was awesome. Other highlights included making silly putty, liquid nitrogen ice cream, a zillion free plants, and petting zoo! There were so many other things I wanted to do, but there are a lot of lines as well. Don't forget to come support the student groups for lunch out on the quad! My group (Davis Racing Dragons) serves kbbq and aloe very year and we always have the biggest lines! /shamelessadvertising read more

It was ridiculously hot at Davis Picnic Day this year. So hot that we didn't want to do anything but look for somewhere to hide indoors...

It's difficult to plan an event that caters to both families and college kids. They're practically polar opposites. First of all, I appreciate everything that goes into the planning of the Picnic Day Board. They continue a tradition that is ever evolving since UC Davis was established. With that said, Picnic Day continues the tradition of showing off UC Davis to visitors, and emphasizing parts of campus that are usually left unknown to students. It allows student run groups to fundraise and promote themselves. And having the whole thing come together successfully is the hardest part. Picnic Day 2012 was yesterday, and was estimated that 80,000 people attended. One can say that if you've been to one, you've been to all of them. And yes that's pretty true, because many campus organizations and departments simply regurgitate what they had the previous year. But I've also noticed that Picnic Day is a day where out of towners come and visit their friends and family. On the other end of that spectrum are the people who just enjoy getting shitfaced and every college campus needs something like that. Too bad its integrated with a family and kid friendly event. Tips: Bring a bottle to refill your water, stations are everywhere, you'll need it. Plan your day ahead of time, there's so much going on that it's hard to plan what you all want to do on the spot. Cheers! read more

SO PROUD TO BE AN AGGIE! Picnic day is the bomb-diggity. Get some free plants, go nerd it up at the bug + plant exhibits, then eat some good food, call it a day at Lake Spafford for Battle of the bands. And some other things in between. read more

Lets go AGGIES!!!!!!! doxie derby, free plants, parades,, marching bands, maggot painting, live music, a bazillion food booth......gaaaaaahh. People from all over gather to this fine occasion. Besides the sheer overload of cops on this day there is something for everyone to enjoy. Whether you love plants, music, bands, dancing, or racing tiny dogs, or even miking a cow. Let you imagination run wild, and memories abound oh and at night there is a dance competition at freeborn. From hip hop to traditional this is a great event...just get tickets before hand, it sells out quick read more

This Picnic Day '09 will be the tenth anniversary of my very first Picnic Day experience. I think that if you've never been, it's pretty difficult to tell you WHY Picnic Day is so great. What I CAN tell you is that Picnic Day '99 was the reason I decided to come to UCD in the first place. There are so many highlights of Picnic Day. Sunshine, school spirit, music, parades, Dachsund races, animals, insects, fashion shows, chemistry magic shows, daytime drunkenness, naps on the grass, old friends, and so many memories... it just doesn't get better than Picnic Day. I'm looking forward to another round! read more

Great weather, tons of activities and of course a festive environment. What more is there to love about exploring the city of Davis and the local university campus? It's a fun atmosphere to take part in. It's honestly a "must-do" if your a Davis student or just so happen to be in the area. But to be frank, the down side is that there is this overwhelming stigma that you need to get wicked trashed and wasted to enjoy this day. People (mainly younger students) start drinking around 7am... Why? I have no idea. To be honest I feel like it is simply an excuse to start consuming ungodly amounts of alcohol at an ungodly hour. Think of someone who starts drinking at 7am... They're in rehab. (not the awesome Vegas pool party, but the rehabilitation center.) Last year I hopped on a bus at 10am to head to campus to enjoy myself... Some chump threw up (already?!) in the back of the bus. Sweet deal, thanks. I'll catch the next one. This being said I feel like the unnecessary need to drink and get wasted takes away from walking around and casually enjoying a beer along with the festivities. Because people are irresponsible, it has dampened the mood and made picnic day a 1 time ordeal for me. read more

I went to picnic day to visit friends of mine that go to Davis. Picnic Day is mainly a) science exhibits because UC Davis is a public reasearch University and b) college kids getting drunk as hell. I thought the parade was cool and was impressed by UC Davis' marching band'uh. The Dog race or Doxie Derby was a little on the long side.The best part was free parking. My best advice is to choose what you want to see wisely because most exhibits and attractions end at 3 pm. Also, if you want an easy time leaving Davis, leave before all the events end, which is like 3 pm or 4 pm. read more

I've been going every year for five years but honestly I cannot specifically recommend anything besides the parade, the food stands by the end of the parade, and the Battle of the Bands because those are the only places I get to see as a member of one of the participating bands. Nevertheless, from January until Picnic Day hits, our Band plans and gets super worked up to show up and play for those 7-8 hours. It is loads of fun and you definitely won't be bored. UCSD and UCI always show up in themed costumes, Stanford is always in crazy outfits that might pass as clothing as well as bringing some random contraption, Humboldt brings out a 45-minute Louie Louie rendition in which anyone can play, and Cal and Davis are no slouchers on spirit. The event goes all day so you can come and go as you please. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something to do after you've found that everything else has closed or have just already finished all you wanted to do. There is a big lawn in front of Lake Spafford where the Battle takes place that provides great seating and a view of the bands. You won't be disappointed. read more

There is something for absolutely everyone at picnic day. My personal favorites are the music (both the battle of the bands -marching bands- which is epic and you could waste an entire day on the arboretum and the other live music), the craft center (demonstrations of woodwork, glass blowing, metal working, print making and more), and the sheep dog demonstrations (these dogs are exceptionally talented). Great food and something to see around every corner. The only downside with picnic day is that the partying has gotten a little out of hand. Campus it's self isn't too bad, but I find it best to avoid downtown on picnic day. read more

This was my first experience here and totally loved it. There are so many animals for the elementary school kids to see and pet. Now the restaurants are a bit higher since they are on campus, but that's understandable. read more

As Picnic Day came to a close last Saturday and the facebook groups entitled "Save Picnic Day" started popping up, I was inspired to write a review on this historical day in Davis. As always, Picnic Day did not fall short of amazing. With the Grade A quality of people Davis puts out each year, it always pulls at your heart strings to see your favorite alumni come back. Since the wake-up call at 7:30 am, I was in a great mood knowing what this day entailed and that it would be my last at a UC Davis undergrad. All the fraternities pulled out all of the stops- shout out to Delta Sig Sunset for a great pregame and feeding people beer bongs off the roof (isn't that what college is about?) and to Pike for hosting a million people in their back yard per usual but still being selective as to who they let in. Lets be honest, MIB is NECESSARY to keep the randos out.. picnic day is about enjoying it with your friends.. not the townies or out of townies that NEVER WENT HERE. Which gets to my next point... as for PICNIC NIGHT... why I can only give Picnic Day four stars this year. When have I ever felt like I was in a dangerous situation walking the streets of downtown Davis? Thank goodness for the cops at every corner, but can the people coming up from Sac please not hoot and holler at every girl that walks by or get in fights at every street corner? And you're making the lines for OUR bars around the block and impossible to get into unless your on VIP. Thankfully half my house works at Bistro 55 so I could get in SOMEWHERE without wasting half of my picnic night standing behind people who clearly only cross the Davis boarder one day a year: Picnic Day. You know the crowds are out of control when you have to wait in line at Jack in the Box for over a half hour and when you get to the front they are completely out of curly fries. I say, unless your alumni or friends of people who go to the school..... STAY HOME. Leave picnic day to be enjoyed by the students or previous students and maybe facebook groups saying "save picnic day" won't need to be made and there won't need to be hundreds of EXTRA cops bussed in to make sure people actually feel safe on the streets. Davis has never been a scary place... lets keep it that way. If you decide to come up and join the fun.. be respectful and just blend in. As for going on campus... until I have kids I probably never will. But I heard the weenier dog races were quite thrilling. Picnic Day 2010: 4 stars simply because alumni should never graduate and should simply stick around to entertain me at ALL times. It was great seeing you all. read more

The simple fact that Picnic day is SO overrun by stupid drunk people, that UC Davis PD and Davis PD need to call in extra help from other cities/counties, and people still have died/ been seriously injured says something huge about this event. Picnic Day was started, not as a "lets see how drunk we can get between 7am and 5am, while we party and walk from frat house to frat house ", but simply as a giant open house for UCD. If it were up to Davis PD and a lot of the families in Davis, I am sure that Picnic day would have been cancelled long ago, but ''lucky' for all the college students both present and future, UCD and the UC Davis Police department (yes the one you all hate so much) rallies every year to keep this tradition. Now I'm not saying that I hate everything about Picnic day, I love the Aggie band, the parade, dachshund races, and all the fun activities in central park, but sadly in this case the bad outweighs the good. Nobody should end up dying or even getting seriously injured during an event like this, just because someone at some point said "lets have a party instead of celebrating our school", especially people who are so young and have so much ahead of them in life. read more

Ok so I'm not actually a student of UCDavis, I plan on going to UCI in Fall '10 but my boyfriend just graduated last June and my brother just transferred last fall so I know all kinds of people from there. Everyone's always like you gotta got to picnic day! SO I did last year and it wasn't the best? Around 3 everything was gone and people were scattered everywhere wasted and across from the park this huge brawl broke out in front of one of the frats LOL Idiots. I'm gonna go again this year though and give it another shot to see if it's really what everybody always talks about. This time I think I'll follow the 'tradition' and get drunk with everybody the nite before and stumble around haha it's been awhile since I've done that. read more

What a fun time. Walked 7 miles on the Fitbit but was ready to do more

a day for prospective students to visit the campus, current students to invite parents for a visit, watch daschund races, see the cow with the glass stomach, see other animal/vet displays, science-y booths, a day when on-campus organizations and clubs fundraise by selling chocolate dipped bananas or corn dogs (don't you just love food on sticks??) and work other food stands...i believe it is a day of much school pride. did i mention the parade? it goes all through town. this is the day where UCD shows it's true colors as an Ag school (proudly, of course) and also shows there are so many other fine departments and opportunities for scholarship. a fine academic institution, and all jokes aside, i am proud to have attended. ... mimosas at 9AM (cooks & odwalla, natch)...bring flip flops in your bag...get your girls together...lament that you missed the parade...party at friends younger brother's apartment...take picts...reminisce on previous picnic days...remember that one where you and you-know-who did you-know-what you-know-where. sigh, hard to forget that one...BBQ, polish off keg...wander downtown and do some drunk shopping (oh, is that just me? damn)...hit up the bars of your college days...experience flashbacks in cantina, froggy's, G street & woodstocks...drunkdial a couple ex's...run into a couple ex's...stroll down to the yellow house and the track house... run into more people you haven't seen in 3 years...take more picts-- smile big!...stop at a random house's keg...refill your to-go "coffee" cups...take a nap in the sunshine (hopefully!) at the park, and repeat. the next morning realize you are no longer 19 or 20...groan, stretch...did i really FALL down? ...and laugh w your girls over your obnoxious pictures over brunch. read more

UCD's 100th Picnic Day was a huge success with thousands of attendees wandering throughout this amazing campus. If you haven't been to Picnic Day, you have to go at least once. There is something for people of all ages to enjoy and it's not just for Davis students and alums. It's truly an open house of the entire campus. Some tips: Arrive early to avoid struggling to find parking. Check out the schedule of events online so you don't waste time trying to figure out what you want to see or do. Wear comfortable shoes because you will be walking around a lot as you go from building to building checking out exhibits. Watch the parade. It's actually quite entertaining. Go to the arboretum and enjoy the battle of the bands. Visit the bookstore and purchase a picnic day Tshirt. Most of all .... Have a good time; which I'm sure you will. read more

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One of the reasons I decided to go to school here. I remember when they had the fistulated cow. Love watching the dog frisbee contest!!

I love picnic daaaaay! Its soo much fun, but I hate how the festivities end so early because honestly, I'm waking up from a late night of pre-picnic day festivities! Best day to play power hour everrrr. ;) I definitely liked the snow exhibit they had last year.. and most of the booths were pretty much over by the time I got there. The live music is pretty fun and everyone there is either buzzed, wasted, or with their family. read more

Picnic day is Davis's annual open house. It's usually a big party, and there always so much to do...if you can get to it in time. If you want to have a fulfilling picnic day, get there early to get a spot and leave yourself adequate timing to travel from one place to another and wait in line. Yes, lines can be as bad as Disneyland depending what you're in line for. Free food/plants/science shows tend to have some bad lines. read more

greatest day ever for uc davis students, alumni and residents! This day is filled with so many activities and love for UCD.

Excellent event. Very proud of our UC Davis students. Family oriented and gave our Junior in High School a great impression. Thank you all for all your dedication to this event! read more

The picnic day is an once a year event at UC Davis. It is a lot of fun for current and new students. I highly recommend everyone to go!!!

What a great event every year. Wish they would have more events later into the afternoon and evening, or make it a two day event!