Let’s go on a Picnic
The rise of picnicking inspires students to host their own and find new ways to express themselves
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our friends sit on opposite corners of a patterned sheet that is anchored by a colossal amount of food and drinks. Cake, sandwiches, chips and a charcuterie board are all precisely laid out in an artistic array for the mini photoshoot that just took place. As the food slowly gets picked away, all of the attendees raise their empty wine glasses for the unexpected grand finale. The glasses are turned upside down and pressed into the top of the cake, collecting a glassful of airy sponge and creamy frosting. Everyone laughs as the decorative frosted frogs and mushrooms get destroyed, and the conversation slows down as the sun starts to set. Walking together with masks on and the leftovers neatly packed in boxes, plans for the next picnic outing at a new park with new dishes are already in the works. The cottage core aesthetic of picnicking has taken over our feeds on Instagram and TikTok, complete with artistic picnic baskets and charcuterie boards. This viral trend has encouraged many students to join this recent excitement. One of those students is senior Noelle Burwell, who sees picnicking not only as a popular trend, but also a safe way to hang out with friends during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Getting the chance to go outside and do activities reminds us of our lives before the pandemic,” Burwell said. “It’s great that we are slowly getting back to that.” As a result of mandated social distancing, many people lost contact with close friends. So, people turned to social
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media for COVID safe hang-out ideas. Andie Tetzlaff started to see a generous amount of her TikTok feed being dedicated to people having picnics. “TikTok has been the root of many trends, and sometimes people will accidentally go viral,” Tetzlaff said. “So when someone posted a video [of picnicking], I bet others thought to themselves, ‘Hey this is a fun idea, let me see if my friends want to do this,’ and then it spread like wildfire.” Because of the popularized images and videos circulating social media, people who organize picnics often go all-out in their preparation and planning. Some do this by plating elaborate charcuterie boards and others by bringing a myriad of decorative pillows. Tetzlaff also recognizes that the process of creating a picnic takes a lot of effort, but is rewarding and fun at the same time. For example, building a charcuterie board and placing the cheese and crackers perfectly to give it an aesthetically pleasing look that is perfect for a social media post. “A lot of people I know just do things for the social media presence,” Tetzlaff said. “So it makes sense that a colorful and neatly organized picnic would be popular on social media.” Simple yet elegant cakes have been a popular item to bring on these picnics and even how to eat them has been reimagined online.
