California dreamin’

Though some mystery surrounds the origins of Atlanta’s annual Cali Picnic, one baseline detail is uniform across theories: A group of homesick Atlanta University Center students from California, unable to afford the cross-country trip back home, united to recreate that West Coast vibe at a local park. The Picnic’s exact start year changes depending on who you ask, but most say it originated sometime between 1992 and 1994.

For years, the Cali Picnic has been sustained through collaborative energy. Its board of directors primarily represent the almost oppositional aspects of Cali’s hip-hop generation, ranging from the of the funk-influenced, social-consciousness-meets-playa lifestyle of San Francisco’s Bay Area and to Los Angeles’ more hardcore, gang-influenced inner city culture. As a result, the Picnic strikes a balance between the two regions’ styles with egos, regional pride, and even generational gang tensions all set aside for the love of California. After all, as organizers Maurice “Moetown” Lee and N. Ali Early point out, Atlanta’s draw for many West Coast transplant was an opportunity to get away from the gang violence and drug culture that has ravaged their respective hometowns since the ’80s. For many, that way out is through school. For Compton-born Lee, the relocation came much later in life, when he came to visit Atlanta and, enticed by the city’s abundance of black affluence, decided to stay. “California is cool — it’s great to go back and visit,” Lee says. “But when you grow up there, a lot of us feel like we have to get out. We have to find a better way.”

The free day-long event includes a rotation of DJs offering up nonstop musical selections spanning three decades — from Sly and the Family Stone and Con Funk Shun to Digital Underground and Kehlani. The event also hosts food and product vendors, along with a children’s play area including bouncy castles and games. The Cali Picnic is mostly fueled by volunteers, clear evidence of the pride Californians-turned-Atlantans still feel about their home state and the real bonds they’ve formed in a new hometown.

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While the event has drawn comparisons to the infamous Spring Break-style citywide party Freaknik, Cali Picnic grew into a family-friendly event. Think about it: The college students who first created the event in the ’90s are now parents — with a few of their own kids studying at AUC now. For many of the attendees, the Picnic continues to represent a taste of home without the airfare and PTO. It’s an opportunity to introduce their children, friends, and significant others to a slowed-down, chill West Coast pace hardly represented on this side of the country. “New Yorkers are loud,” Lee says. “They’re gonna let you know they’re here and they’re going to let you know where they’re from. We tend to be more laid-back.” The family atmosphere exemplifies the event’s continuing legacy, with second-generation Californians taking as much pride in celebrating inherited culture as their parents do. The organizers continue to encourage the involvement of the AUC, where the Cali Picnic was born, embracing a continuous influx of fresh blood and encouraging current students to push the movement forward.

In 2015, despite a last-minute date change due to the unpredictability of Atlanta spring weather, the Cali Picnic drew in more than 2,000 attendees. Please recall last year welcomed Kendrick Lamar’s politically engaging To Pimp a Butterfly and N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton making way for California hip-hop to rejoin cultural conversation across the country. And just like Lamar and the Compton flick, the Cali Picnic met some resistance. “I think people see Cali and they think gang culture, but that’s not what it’s about,” Bay Area-native Early says, noting that in its 22-year run, the festival has never suffered violent outbreak. “Yeah, you might see people come out and represent their colors, but everybody recognizes that it’s a peaceful event. It’s a piece of home and we all want to keep it that way.”

This year, the California Culture and Arts Festival spans two days, kicking off with the Klasiks pre-party at 595 North at 9 p.m. on Fri., April 22. The Cali Picnic itself added an arts stroll and a breakdancing competition as added features alongside the Eighth Annual Cali Picnic Car Show, which will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. during the larger event. Hosting the Cali Picnic at Morris Brown this year, bypassing a number of fees and permits associated with a city-owned venue, significantly cut the event’s overhead — which especially rules since it somehow comes together annually without the support of any big-name sponsors. Early says that the goal is to revisit a partnership with the city that will allow the event to grow to its full potential in future years. “I think what it comes down to is what we can prove we can do for the city,” he says.