Picnic Day

Best Davis Event: Picnic Day as #1
By: Madeline McCurry Schmidt * The California Aggie *  February 19, 2008 

On April 19, about 50,000 visitors and residents of Davis will flood the city for the 94th Annual Picnic Day. Picnic Day, originally called the "Basket Day," began in Davis to celebrate the construction of a new dairy barn in 1909.

Now, the event spans across campus and streets of Downtown Davis. There is an annual parade as well as the popular Battle of of the Bands. A highlight of the event is the performance of the Cal Aggie Marching Band-Uh!

The theme of this year's Picnic Day is "A Kaleidoscope of Voices." Picnic Day vice chair Joey Y. Almario said that the idea of kaleidoscope, with its different shapes and colors, symbolizes the goal of diversity at Picnic Day.

"That's our goal. No matter what happens, we come [from] different backgrounds, but we can still perform as one unit," Almario said.

Almario said that although the committee is still accepting applications for booths and activities, it has decided upon two parade marshals who he hopes will embody the theme of diverse backgrounds: UC Davis alumnus Martin Yan from the cooking show "Yan Can Cook" and beatboxing Antoinette "Butterscotch" Clinton, a Davis native.