About a year ago I was living in paradise in Gold Coast, Australia. It’s not really much of a secret that most courses one would take abroad are not something students are going to really stress over. The one course I had while studying abroad that was a surprising challenge was my Event Management course. As part of this class, my group was assigned the task of putting on a school-wide event for the student body to enjoy.

What we came up with was Picnic by the Lake. Picnic by the Lake was held a year ago yesterday and was an event where food vendors representing different cultures and creative cooking styles came to our campus and held a food festival. The festival was designed to be in the most relaxing, casual picnic-esque environment possible, so it was held on our ornamental lawns next to the lake in the middle of campus. I was the marketing and entertainment representative for this event, and as part of that job title I was assigned the task of putting together a playlist for the event. This is probably my favorite event-specific playlist I’ve ever made. It’s meant to promote a combination of relaxation as well as upbeat fun. I’ve used it for several other events since because I’ve learned that that is a versatile and sought after set of emotions. So take these songs in and picture yourself on the east cost of Australia on the most beautiful 80 degree day yo could ask for…sorry, maybe that’s a bit tough to imagine at the beginning of this cold spring.