Picnic Day Collection, 1909-2017

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Summary

Title:
Picnic Day Collection
Dates:
1909-2017
Abstract:
Picnic Day, the University of California, Davis annual Open House, has been a tradition on campus since 1909. Collection includes programs, newspaper clippings, photographic slides, and memorabilia from the University of California, Davis Picnic Day celebrations.
Extent:
6.2 linear feet
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Picnic Day Collection, AR-075, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection includes programs, newspaper clippings, photographic slides, and memorabilia from the University of California, Davis Picnic Day celebrations.

Biographical / historical:

Picnic Day, the University of California, Davis annual Open House, has been a tradition on campus since 1909. The Picnic Day tradition started in 1909 with a "Dedication Basket Picnic" to honor the opening of North Hall, the first dormitory on the campus of the University Farm (now the University of California, Davis). Visitors came to inspect the University Farm and join faculty and students in a picnic lunch sponsored by the faculty. By 1911 Picnic Day was a firmly established annual event, a combination educational exhibit and annual spring festival. In 1914 it became a student-organized activity run by a special committee appointed by the Executive Committee of the Associated Students. Today, Picnic Day remains a student-organized activity run by the Associated Students, University of California, Davis (ASUCD).

Picnic Day has been cancelled only six times in its history: in 1924 because of a statewide hoof-and-mouth disease epidemic that threatened livestock herds, in 1938 after the old classroom building was torn down, from 1943-1945 during World War II and finally 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. ASUCD launched a virtual event in 2020 and 2021 while pandemic restrictions remained.

Sources:

Archives and Special Collections. (2020). Picnic Day: By the Decade. UC Davis Library. https://library.ucdavis.edu/exhibit/picnic-day-by-the-decade/

ASUCD Picnic Day. (n.d.) History: The story of Picnic Day. ASUCD. https://picnicday.ucdavis.edu/history

Processing information:

Liz Phillips encoded this finding aid with help from student assistant Aditi Sinha. Vanessa Cardona-Ocegueda encoded accruals to Box 9 in 2026.

Physical location:
Researchers should contact Archives and Special Collections to request collections, as many are stored offsite.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid created by Archives and Special Collections staff
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-08-19 09:29:23 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Picnic Day Collection, AR-075, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library
100 NW Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292, US
Contact:
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
Website