More than 450 people lined up at RiNo Art Park this past Saturday, all with one thing in common: a love of cake.
“It’s delicious! I can eat it all day. I just want to eat all of it,” said Allison Ferreira’s excited kids.
The home baker attended with her 6- and 9-year-olds and husband in tow.
“Our hobby is eating and sweets, so we're like, ‘This is for us,’” she said.
The event was part of a social media trend that has spread around the globe, with cake-themed gatherings happening from New York City to Putrajaya, Malaysia.
Saturday’s frosting-filled gathering in RiNO was organized by Denver-based pastry chef Morgan Bennett, who was inspired by the first Cake Picnic series in San Francisco created by Elisa Sunga.
“With everything going on in the world right now, we all need a little bit of simple joy. And a sweet treat brings a lot of people joy,” Bennett told Denverite. “For the longest time I was like, ‘I can't be a baker.’ I want to do something meaningful, something with more purpose. And I was like, ‘You know what? If I'm having a bad day, what do I want? I want a treat, I want to reach for a little something.’ So, it does bring joy.”
There’s only one hard rule: every participant brings a cake.
“I was trying to impress the Denver bakers,” said Nashwa Zafar, an event participant who moved to Denver two years ago. “I decided to challenge myself, and I was like, ‘I'm going to do a crepe cake.’
She ended up finding a rose crepe cake on Pinterest.
“So that's what I brought today — a whipped cream crepe cake shaped like a rose,” she said.
Tables were set up in the park's plaza, which quickly filled up with confections of all different shapes, sizes, and flavors.
Some people took a … more loosely interpretive approach to their cake creations.
“I brought a pickle cake, so it is all pickles and pickled vegetables,” said Lauren Moon, a friend of Bennett who was at the event. “My dear friend Sam pickled all these veggies from her garden, so they're homemade pickles. I like cake, but I'm not a big baker. I'm not going to lie, I don't love cake. I mean, I like cake. But I'm here to eat cake, and I love pickles, so this is a way for me to make a pickle tower.”
Every attendee received an empty box and a color-coded wristband, which corresponded to a time slot. When a certain color was called, everyone with that wristband had five minutes to grab as much cake as they wanted.
Once all the colors had been cycled through, attendees could get seconds and, for the brave, even thirds.
“I got a little bit of everything,” said Haley Paez, who attended the event and is the creator behind the popular food blog @milehighandhungry. “I just love how everyone gets super creative. I have a lemon mochi cake, an ube cake, a savory cake — which is focaccia with cream cheese and tomato — a choco flan, a pickle.”
“Everyone just had so much fun and really showed their personality with their cakes,” she said.
This is the second cake picnic Bennett has organized. Two hundred people attended the first back in May at City Park. According to Bennett, the tickets for this past Saturday’s event sold out in less than a week. There was so much demand that she added a date on Sunday.
“I was a volunteer last time, and I found it through just my friends sharing on Instagram,” Helen Nguyen, who was helping out at the event, told Denverite. “I love cake and community, and I think Morgan does a really good job tying those things together and making a place for connection and cake fanatics.”
While the cake picnics are a viral sensation, attendees emphasized their appreciation for the real-world connections it fostered.
“Community is so important, and I feel like everyone's so online. To be able to bring online offline is just so amazing,” Piez said. “It's moments like these where you can get people together based on one little interest, and then you find so many other things to bond with them over.”
Besides the main face-stuffing event, attendees could also purchase artwork, jewelry, and tarot card readings from vendors. The event also doubled as a fundraiser for the non-profit Soul 2 Soul Sisters. The Denver-based organization provides diverse programming for Black women, femmes, and gender-expansive people.
“I know a lot of nonprofits are struggling right now, and so we are really trying to be intentional about who we chose as the beneficiary,” Bennett said.
Tickets cost $25, but Bennett offered discounts to anyone facing financial difficulties.
“I believe in accessibility, and I don't want anyone to be able to come or not be able to come because of finances,” they said.
Leftover cake was donated to community fridges and shelters for people experiencing homelessness.
