International Picnic Day is celebrated annually on June 18.
Pack your picnic basket, hop into the car, get on your bike or walk to a park or a picnic area and enjoy an outdoors meal by yourself or with your family and friends to celebrate.
Originally a picnic was a fashionable social event to which each guest contributed some food, sort of like a pot luck. There are no rules for a modern picnic. You can keep it as simple as a bag of chips, sandwiches and something to drink or get elaborate, the choice is yours. Have fun! That’s what a modern picnic is all about.
Below are some fun local spots to picnic at.
Treaty Oak at Jessie Ball DuPont Park – This over 200 year old live oak is the perfect setting for a picnic. Plenty of shade and the kids will be amazed by the size and expanse of the tree branches.
Balis Park – This San Marco park has the historic lions sculpture, a cuppola to sit under, and a sculpture of kids playing whimsically. A quintessential Jacksonville spot at this newly restored park.
Unity Plaza Riverside – This new urban park is part of the Brooklyn neighborhood Riverside revitalization.
Memorial Park Riverside – Walk along the St. Johns River in Riverside on the sidewalk or play in the grassed areas in this local spot.
The Beach – Head to Jacksonville Beach at the pier where the kids can run after the shore birds, you can walk on the pier, and you can enjoy the fresh air and sun.
Tree Hill Nature Center Tree Hill was founded in the 1970’s to provide environmental awareness and education to the public. A series of exhibits are displayed in the museum. The gardens feature butterflies, hummingbirds, herbs, organic vegetables and a bog garden. Swamps, gardens and nature trails can be enjoyed throughout the park.
Fort Caroline National Memorial Fort Caroline National Memorial, located within Timucuan Preserve, presents a two-thirds scale model of 16th-century Fort Caroline. The original fort was a French property established in 1564 and captured by the Spanish in 1565.
Big Talbot Island State Park Located about 20 miles east of Jacksonville, Big Talbot Island is one of the last undeveloped sea islands in Florida. This is a good park for hiking, boating and picnicking.
“A book of verse beneath the bough,
A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness –
Ah, wilderness were paradise enough!”
~Omar Khayyam, The Rubaiyat
*The painting;
Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (The Luncheon on the Grass) – originally titled Le Bain (The Bath) – is a large oil on canvas painting by Édouard Manet.