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Thank Goodness for Staff organizers are excited about the picnic's new main course: barbecued tri-tip sandwiches from the popular Buckhorn Steak & Roadhouse in Winters.

"People wanted something different," said Lina Layiktez, TGFS chair for Staff Assembly, which presents the annual celebration, set for May 7 this year. "Folks really wanted us to try something new — something more picnicky."

Sure, said the people who run the Buckhorn, we can barbecue hamburgers and hot dogs for you. Better yet, they asked, how about the Buckhorn's famous tri-tip sandwiches, for the same price?

"So we said, 'Why not?' " said Layiktez, director of Campus Events and Visitor Services.

The Buckhorn plans to do the barbecuing on site, further adding to the picnic atmosphere, Layiktez said. The BBQ will be a big one: enough for about 5,000 sandwiches.

This year's menu omits another kind of sandwich, ice cream sandwiches, which until recent years had been a TGFS tradition. Picnic organizers, wary of the fallout, are getting the word out about the dessert's disappearance, posting this statement on the TGFS Web site: "Please note: We will not be providing ice cream sandwiches; sorry for any inconvenience."

They are going away for a couple of reasons, according to Layiktez and Staff Assembly Chair Lin King. To start with, the TGFS committee has had difficulty finding a vendor who can provide 5,000 ice cream sandwiches in wrappers made from old-fashioned paper -- i.e., wrappers that are biodegradable.

This is the same reason the TGFS committee pulled ice cream sandwiches from the picnic menu two years ago, much to picnickers' dismay. Staff Assembly prides itself on making the TGFS Picnic a zero-waste event, and ice cream wrappers made from paper and plastic did not cut it.

Then, for the 2007 picnic, TGFS thought it had successfully arranged for the purchase of ice cream sandwiches in plain-paper wrappers. Turns out, they were the same paper-plastic wrappers that Staff Assembly rejected the year before.

"So, we ended up being disappointed that the 2007 picnic wasn't zero waste after all," Layiktez said.

King said the committee could have opted for Klondike ice cream bars in foil wrappers, which can be recycled. On the other hand, with no ice cream at all on the menu, the committee can splurge on Buckhorn tri-tip.

The switch from University Catering to the Buckhorn provided the opportunity for a menu change that King predicted "is going to be great ... and more picnic style."

And, he added, "There's still dessert," referring to assorted fresh-baked cookies.

"We are going to have this great other menu, all from the Buckhorn," King said.

The rest of the menu: veggie burgers, Granny Smith apple coleslaw, baked bean (including vegetarian baked beans), and assorted sodas and water. Organizers advised that people will be limited to two drinks, and suggested "that you bring additional water just in case the weather gets toasty."

Click here for more information about TGFS: tickets, transportation, TGFS Idol, logo contest, Bowling, Golf and Volleyball tournament, Fun Run-Walk, merchandise and raffle. Click to see to see the Guess the Weight photo and contest information.