Aubrey Bickerton has been coming to the Teddy Bear Picnic for six years now.
The seven-year-old came to Vickers Park for the 29th annual event Tuesday with her grandmother and teddy bear Brownie.
“I brought one of my favourites because this one I haven’t brought to the Teddy Bear Picnic yet,” she said.
While the concert at the band shell was her favourite part of the picnic, she was excited for the teddy bear parade, where the children walk through the park with their stuffed friends to the classic Teddy Bear Picnic song.
“I really like the parade because we walk around here,” Bickerton said.
The picnic usually averages about 3,000 people and City of Thunder Bay festivals and events coordinator Meghan Shanks said with Tuesday’s sunny noontime weather, she believed they might exceed that number.
With the picnic set to hit its 30th anniversary next year, Shanks said the event has really grown to take over the whole park.
“I remember when I grew up in t is area and I used to come. It was mostly focused at the beginning of the park when you come into Selkirk Street,” she said. “There wasn’t the community groups or the main stage or anything like that. Every year it just keeps getting bigger and better.”
This year there were about 30 community groups at the picnic; it’s those groups that add to the picnic atmosphere, said Shanks.
She attributes the popularity of the event to the time of year, the location and fun atmosphere.
“The kids have just gotten out of school. They’re looking for something to do and it’s during the day and it’s in a local park,” she said. “Everything kind of comes together and we keep it the same every year so everybody knows it’s coming.”
The event was held from noon to 3 p.m. with activities like face-painting and crafts available for the children as well as the Boo Boo Bear Station where bears in need of stitching or other repairs could be tended to.
