Friendship, food and fun at Teddy Bear Picnic

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Published on Wednesday, June 28, 2017

By Miranda Leybourne
The Neepawa Press

It was perfect picnic weather on June 20, and just in time for the annual Teddy Bear Picnic. The event, put on by ArtsForward, saw volunteers from the local RCMP, EMS, Touchwood Park and more come together to put on a fun-filled morning for toddlers and preschoolers at Riverbend Park from 10 a.m. to noon. 

Children who attended were given a “passport” and encouraged to attend a multitude of different stations to get it “stamped” with stickers. These stations included seeing a nurse give their teddy bears pretend needles, making friends with a local law enforcement officer and checking out his police car, getting teddies bandaged up near an ambulance, and more. There was a table where children could play a card game and have a healthy snack, and a cookie decorating and face painting station. Children had the opportunity to play musical instruments and play with a colourful parachute while listening to classical music, and there was also a toddler-friendly obstacle course to encourage physical literacy. 
Kathleen Guillas, who works at ArtsForward, says that while she was happy to see the kids who did show up have a good time, she had hoped more people would have come out to the event.
“I wish there were more people here,” she says. “I was hoping that there’d be more daycares coming - especially on such a nice day.” However, she’s happy with the amount of people that came together to put on the event, and thanked all the volunteers involved.