From the Nominator

"In April 2021, Picnic Day--the largest campus-wide event at UC Davis--went virtual for the first time ever. As part of the celebrations, the Cal Aggie Alumni Association brought back one of our favorite traditions, the Picnic Day pancake breakfast, and hosted the event virtually for the first time ever. 

This family-friendly event featured live pancake cooking demonstrations and tips on how to make the best pancakes at home. Once breakfast was ready, we networked in Zoom breakout rooms. The pancake shopping list was sent to all registered participants before the event. We mailed all registered participants branded spatulas (we covered the cost of shipping for members, but charged for shipping for our non-members). 

During the event, we featured several campus departments, including the Robert Mondavi Institute for Food Science, which sponsored the event, and Coffee Center, which shared tips on brewing the best cup of coffee from home. This event was attended by 228 participants during the live demonstration and the recording of the event was sent to the 647 Aggies who registered for the event. 

Overall, the event was a success because of attendance, but was also a great way to bring back an event that we haven’t hosted in several years. We had tons of alumni excited to have the pancake breakfast again and were excited to provide this event in an innovative format that was much less cost intensive than the in-person event."

From the Judges

The judges loved the creativity and sense of fun behind this clever event. We commended the thoughtful approach--considering which former traditions might work best in a virtual setting--and thought this was a great solution to the challenge of starting Picnic Day with a live activity and the opportunity to connect with each other during a day of mostly asynchronous activity. The use of alumni chefs to explain the science and inclusion of campus departments tied into the food science expertise at UC Davis in an engaging way. And of course, we admired the branded spatulas!