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2016 marks 100 years celebrating Ontario’s All States Picnic! In 1916, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce held its first Dinner of the States banquet in December. It became an annual picnic held at John Galvin Park in the 1930s, and in 1939 the All States Picnic moved to Euclid Avenue. In 1941, the event was featured in Ripley’s Believe It Or Not column, proclaiming the world’s longest picnic table. ...For those of you not old enough to remember, picnic tables were lined up along the Euclid Avenue median all the way from B Street to Sixth Street! Folks designated themselves by their state of origin or ancestry, and state signs were placed along the massive picnic table. During it’s heyday in the late 1950s and early 1960s, around 100,000 people would attend the picnic and parade each year, which was coordinated by Wilma Denham and others in the community. Each state would nominate a queen as representative and the queens would reign over the parade, which was held in the hot afternoon in those days. For a few years in the 1960s, the event was held south of Holt near De Anza Park. Community interest in the parade and picnic dwindled in the 1970s and the event was even cancelled altogether in 1978, although there was a small picnic held at John Galvin Park that year. A revival of the picnic was coordinated in 1991 to mark the city’s centennial. While the community still comes out for the 4th of July parade each year, most folks don’t stick around to picnic. You’ll find tables still set up though, so show your Ontario pride, bring a basket of goodies, find your state’s table, and enjoy a picnic to celebrate 100 years of this unique event!

Post content and Photo credit: Model Colony History Room. #HistoricalWednesday #CityofOntario See More