Saturday marked UC Davis' annual Picnic Day, a free, family-friendly community event, celebrating the achievements UC Davis has in areas of research, teaching, service and campus life.

This year’s Picnic Day was themed " Rewind" in hopes of reviving the spirit of the first Picnic Day in 1909. All day crowds of students celebrate their Aggie pride with groups of alumni, family, faculty and staff, children and pets. Events begin at 7:30 a.m. with the pancake breakfast and parade. Festivities last throughout the day and into the night, ending after the last marching band performs at the Battle of the Bands event at Spafford Lake in the Arboretum.

Picnic Day is one of the largest student-run events in the nation. Events are spread across the whole campus, where you can find booths filled with a wealth of information regarding the campus and community. Events are broken down into areas of interest: animal events, parades, entertainment, exhibits, multicultural children's fair, non-profit resource fair, student organization fair and special events.

Over 100,000 people from around the country are drawn into this Davis landmark event. Attendees can soak up anything from a KDVS radio station tour to the petting zoo to a chemistry magic show. Most of the campus buildings are open to showcase everything from cockroach races to student garden shows and lectures about the environment.

Picnic Day is also a great place to pull out a blanket and lounge.We spent a majority of time people watching and rocking out to the reggae band Mystic Roots. As we walked around, we stopped for a moment to watch a young man being soaked in the a pool of water as he fell victim to the infamous dunk tank, one of many traditional carnival games.

It was our intent to try something different to grub on (beef kabob wrapped in pita with onions, tomatoes, lettuce with bulgar salad and baklava? deep-fried Oreos and chocolate bacon?). However, we ended up getting the classics: hamburgers and nachos.

As the day progressed, we noticed a bevy of volunteers monitoring each event and picking up plastic bottles and waste people left behind. According to a volunteer, Picnic Day's future is in danger as a cancellation threat was issued in 2010 from community leaders due to chaos caused by Picnic Day.   The campus has taken the threats seriously, since the cancellation of Picnic Day would easily sabotage part of the Davis community's heart.

“Picnic Day” may conjure images of blankets, baskets full of food and Frisbees, and although it may include those activities, it has grown to become much more. As we were headed back to our car, we ran smack into the middle of the marching band playing. We couldn't decipher where the band began or ended as they blended with the audience to make one big crowd. They were literally becoming one, which in a way seems like the type of message Picnic Day is trying to convey about its small community.

Missed Picnic Day? There is always next year. Check the events page and get familiar for your trip next time.