STAFF ASSEMBLY'S NEXT 'GREAT' EVENT: Staff Assembly's first summer outing is set for June 23: the fifth annual UC Davis Picnic at Great America.

The online ticket price is $29 per person age 3 and up for all-day admission to the Santa Clara theme park and its Boomerang Bay Beach Club water park. The price represents a savings of up to $17.95 off front-gate admission tickets and up to $10 off the regular online price. Not only that, but the Staff Assembly tickets include an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Paramount Pavilion.

The deadline for online ticket purchases is June 22; you can buy tickets at staff.ucdavis.edu (click on "Summer Fun!" and then the Great America icon; enter company code UCDPICNIC).

At the park, people who wear their UC Davis staff lapel pins will be eligible to win prizes.

The assembly also has organized a UC Davis Picnic at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (formerly Marine World), on Aug. 11.

ALAN PARSONS LIVE -- A HOUSEHOLD BENEFIT: The Alan Parsons Live Project is scheduled to play a June 23 concert on UC Davis' main campus as a benefit for the Kiwanis Family House, which provides temporary lodging and support for families of seriously ill or injured children being treated at the UC Davis Medical Center.

The Parsons band, playing progressive rock and pop, is well known for the instrumental "Sirius," used by various U.S. sports teams — in particular the Chicago Bulls — to herald their entry into the arena (listen to a bit of it at www.alanparsonsmusic.com). Earlier, Parsons worked as a recording engineer for the Beatles, The Hollies and Pink Floyd.

The UC Davis concert is set for 8 p.m. in Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, or www.mondaviarts.org (click on "07-08 Events").