Annual Picnic

2024 Picnic Registration

Join us for the 15th Annual Dwight D. Eisenhower Society Summer Picnic at Ike and Mamie’s beautiful Gettysburg farm!   This year’s picnic theme is Ike and Mamie in Paris to coincide with the 2024 Summer Olympics. The picnic will be held on Saturday, July 20th weather permitting. Our Special Use Permit from the National Park Service requires us to provide the Park with an alternate date for our annual gathering in the event of severe weather. That date will be Sunday, July 21st. The decision to postpone a day for weather will be made by Thursday morning, the 18th. An email will be sent to all ticket purchasers with an update.  Please hold both dates open on your calendar. If a severe weather incident does occur on Saturday and you are unable to attend the picnic on Sunday, refunds are not possible as we must honor our financial commitments to our picnic vendors.

Enjoy tours of the Eisenhower Home, participate in a ranger program or try your hand at the putting contest on Ike’s putting green sponsored by David and Cynthia Salisbury. Participate in an Eisenhower Trivia Contest with your tablemates. During and after dinner listen to music provided by Vanessa Rice on the keyboard and vocalist Ernie Kranias. They will play and sing a variety of popular music from the period of the 1920’s when the couple was serving in France with the Battle Monuments Commission and with NATO in the early 1950’s to get you in the mood.

The Ragged Edge of Gettysburg will cater for our event once more with a tasty repast of grilled Angus beef sliders, chicken made with one of Ike’s special BBQ sauce recipes and Mamie’s chocolate cake for dessert. Side dishes include Ike’s potato salad, baked beans, and garden salad. A glass of red or white wine will also be available at the outdoor bar courtesy of Duane and Linda Williams. Water, iced tea, and lemonade will also be available. The Ragged Edge will also provide a special item that you can take home as a favor!  Remember Ike’s campaign slogan?  That’s a hint of what that special item is.

You and your guests may drive directly to the farm.  For GPS systems or Google maps, use the address 250 Eisenhower Farm Road, Gettysburg, PA 17325. Follow the signs for handicapped parking.  Parking is in the field, east of the house or, if handicapped, on the macadam near the barn.  The price for picnic tickets is $45 a person or $260 for a table of six people. The last day to purchase tickets is noon on Monday, July 15 if any are still available.  Tickets sold out the past three years, so please purchase them soon!

Go to REGISTRATION & PAYMENT FORMS BELOW, (Online or Offline Options).

You may participate in any of the following activities:

Schedule of Events

• ARRIVE & CHECK-IN AT EISENHOWER FARM – 4:15 PM – 4:45 PM
• SIGN UP FOR A HOUSE TOUR (groups of 25) – 4:30, 4:45, 5:00 & 5:15 PM..  Arrive by 4:30 to register as house tour space is limited and first come, first served.
• TRY YOUR HAND AT THE PUTTING GREEN CONTEST – 5:00 PM – 5:40 PM Sponsored by David and Cynthia Salisbury
• ATTEND AN EISENHOWER TALK– 5:15 pm (20-30 minutes) Join a member of the park staff for a talk to hear some interesting stories about the Eisenhowers.
• ENJOY DINNER – 5:50 PM Under the picnic tent. Participate in the Trivia Contest with your tablemates. No use of phones or the internet allowed!
• DOOR PRIZES from our donors.
• LISTEN TO Dinner Music by Vanessa Rice. After dinner, Vanessa and Ernie Kranias will peform songs from that late 1920s and early 1950s that Ike and Mamie would have heard while in Paris with the Battle Monuments Commission and at NATO. – 7:30 PM
• HAVE A SAFE TRIP HOME- 8:00 PM

Other things to do while at the farm:

• VIEW WAYSIDE EXHIBITS – Around the property.
• SEE THE EISENHOWER PAINTING – On display in the Eisenhower Home until 5:45 PM
• TAKE A WALK TO THE CATTLE BARNS AT FARM 2 – (ask for a detailed map at check-in)