UC Davis Picnic Day 2015 Guide

We LOVE Picnic Day! This is the 101st year for the UC  Davis tradition is a lot of fun for UC Davis students and Davis families.

Here are some quick Picnic Day 2015 highlights:

  • California Aggie Marching Band: Enjoy the band’s performance at the Picnic Day Parade, 9:30–11:30 a.m., then watch them compete in Battle of the Bands, 2 p.m.–twilight.
  • Equestrian Center: Attend a grooming and petting demonstration at the Equestrian Center Open House, 1–3 p.m.
  • Outdoor Adventures: Compete with your friends in the Kayak Races, 10:30 a.m.–noon at Hickey Pool.
  • Craft Center: Experience hands-on demonstrations at the Craft Center Open House, noon–3 p.m.
  • Activities and Recreation Center (ARC): Check out our facilities and recent changes at the ARC Open House, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
  • Sport Clubs: Watch and cheer at the Women’s Water Polo Club Alumni Game, 8–9 a.m., and Men’s Water Polo Club Alumni Game, 9–10 a.m., at Hickey Pool.

If you want the full schedule of events, you can check out the Picnic Day website, or download this whole schedule here (PDF).

The weather for Picnic Day 2015, looks to be warm and sunny. The Davis Enterprise has a few suggestions of events you might like:

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UC Davis Picnic Day 2014 Wayne Tilcock/ Enterprise file photo

In Thursday’s Enterprise, our helpful schedule and preview of events will help you plan an exciting day. Annual favorites like the Doxie Derby — where feisty dachshunds fly across the floor of The Pavilion — the Battle of the (marching) Bands and details of the Picnic Day Parade are all featured. These crowd-pleasing events deserve to be part of your day.

But maybe this is your 20th Picnic Day, and you want to see something you’ve never experienced before. Scour the schedule and find hidden gems, like a coopering demonstration from noon to 2 p.m. at the Robert Mondavi Institute North where you’ll see how oak staves (you know, those thin planks of wood?) are turned into wine barrels.

While in the Mondavi area, stop in at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts and hear the Davis Symphonic Orchestra perform at noon.

Maybe you’re thinking ahead about Mother’s Day and a gift for the woman who has everything. How about making Mom some maggot art? At the Briggs Hall Courtyard between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., you can dip maggots in nontoxic paint and let them squirm their way around on paper to create a masterpiece.

Or try your hand at milking a cow at the Cole Facility between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., possibly timing that to coincide with a real polo match at the Cole Facility Arena between 3 and 4 p.m.

Live bands will be performing on three stages, animal events will amuse and amaze visitors at Hutchison Field, and department open houses will educate and enlighten throughout campus.

Food vendors, including student groups, will be conveniently situated all over campus, but a B-Y-O-Picnic is welcome, too.
Please note: The campus is alcohol-free, as well as 100 percent smoke-free.

As to the logistics of the day, organizers hope visitors will walk, pedal or bus to campus. Those who drive should come early; almost all lots will be open to the public, with reserved areas open to the public beginning at noon. For more details on where to park, visithttp://picnicday.ucdavis.edu/parking-and-directions.

There will be a shuttle serving various UCD campus destinations and parking lots, including the Equestrian Center, Aggie Stadium and the Mondavi Center; and from 11:30 a.m. to 3:40 p.m., there will be free double-decker bus rides between the Silo Terminal and the Memorial Union Terminal.

Unitrans rides will cost $1 on Saturday. The fare is being charged to pay for added police presence required on Picnic Day.

In an effort to minimize rowdiness off of campus, the city of Davis will again declare a Safety Enhancement Zone that covers downtown and an area north of the university east of Anderson Road. Inside the zone, police can give tickets with twice the fine for alcohol-related crimes.

Local business organizations have gathered promises to limit alcohol sales and advertising.