Picnic Day comes to campus April 18, bringing with it a potpourri of education, entertainment and a celebration of the UC Davis Centennial.

Titled “Reflections: 100 Years of Aggie Legacy,” this year’s campus open house features a parade that passes through the Davis campus and parts of downtown Davis and more than 200 events and exhibits, ranging from the sublime to the just plain fun.

The marking of the university’s centennial makes Picnic Day 2009 an especially important milestone. Organizers say the festive event represents the university’s “100-year legacy of excellence in teaching, research, service, and campus life … and is a time to celebrate and reflect on our past as we look optimistically towards the next 100 years.”

One thing will remain the same — crowds. Since 1909, Picnic Day, the largest student-run event of its kind in the nation, has drawn hordes of Aggie enthusiasts.

“Last year, we had more than 100,000 people attend Picnic Day,” said Picnic Day publicity coordinator Steven Lee. “With the centennial this year, we are expecting that many, if not more.”

Lee described Picnic Day as “an opportunity for all departments to show off the projects they have been working on and the things they think the community would like to see.”

One of those is the comedic Doxie Derby dog races, the School of Veterinary Medicine event that has historically drawn some of the biggest crowds.

Michelle Barbieri, student coordinator for the Doxie Derby, holds high hopes for this year’s races. “The pressure is on to live up to the expectations of races past,” she acknowledged.

The derby involves 96 dachshunds, which makes for an even number of racing heats. After the qualifying races, the pack is narrowed down to one winning dog.

Another favorite is the Chemistry Magic Show. The Chemistry Club pulls the levers behind this one, which consists of a series of lab demonstrations that produce light, smoke, sound and other fantastical displays.

Henry Wedler, student vice president of the Chemistry Club, said, “We pick demonstrations with educational value as well.”

Of course, the chemistry show comes with the familiar “don’t try this at home without proper parental supervision” advisory, he said. After all, the goal is education, not explosions.

“We like to explain to the audience what is happening in simple terms,” said Wedler, estimating that at least 50 percent of attendees are families.

Parade, recognition

Events officially begin at 9:30 a.m. with the opening ceremony at the grandstands. Brief remarks will be given by Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef and Picnic Day Chair Christine Pham.

Perhaps the most well-known Picnic Day event is the parade, which spotlights area and student organizations. This year, the parade starts at 10:10 a.m. on North Quad Avenue near Wickson Hall and continues through the city of Davis, featuring the Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh. Parade marshalls include Bob Black, an alumnus and former student government leader, and Gabriella Wong, a senior sociology/law and society major.

Picnic Day is an opportunity to honor some of the bright lights on campus. In a twist this year — and in keeping with the centennial theme — the event will honor Distinguished Legacies instead of Distinguished Faculty. Those selected for recognition are Vanderhoef and Picnic Day staff adviser Rosanne Mandel.

Exotic food flair

There are not many empty bellies on Picnic Day. Sodexo is planning to provide food for about 120,000 people, and several student groups will run food booths on the Quad.

With a range of dishes to tempt every palate, food booth cuisines will offer dishes of Indian, Greek and “carnival-style” American, to name just a few. It all depends on what each student group believes will be the most popular, or which represents the ethnic identity of their group.

The Student Organization Faire strives to give all student groups the opportunity to participate in Picnic Day. One way to get involved is by hosting a food booth. The only food booths allowed on campus during Picnic Day besides those run by Sodexo are student-sponsored booths.

“These are about 480 student groups registered with SPAC (Student Programs and Activities Center),” said Kristen Kortick, director of the fair.

She added, “Student groups know that sponsoring food booths are a great way to raise money for their cause. All the proceeds are completely for the profit of each student group.”

Sense of history

This is the 95th installment of Picnic Day. The first one was held in 1909 when Davisville — as Davis was known in the early 20th century — was a far cry from the busy college town it is today. Eggheads and academics had yet to become the town’s iconic traits when Molly the cow walked to Berkeley seven years later in 1916 (it took 97 hours). This eyebrow-raising act became one of the legends associated with Picnic Day.

Organizers note that in only four cases has the event been canceled. In 1924, an outbreak of hoof-and-mouth disease caused the first cancellation of the event. In 1938, delayed construction of the gymnasium, which was needed to accommodate the ever-increasing number of participants led to a second cancellation. Picnic Day was not held during World War II from 1942 though 1944.

For more information about Picnic Day 2009, go to picnicday.ucdavis.edu.

Caitlin Cobb is a Dateline intern.