Teddy Bears Picnic entertains crowd of fuzzy friends and little humans

Teddy bears and their little human owners were treated to a day of music, activities, and live entertainment at Vicker's Park today.

The City of Thunder Bay's Teddy Bears picnic drew a sizeable crowd of teddy bear loving families who enjoyed picnics on the grass while being entertained by sing-a-longs on stage. Crafts, face painting, bouncy castles, and trampolines were among the activities available.

The event also featured a 'boo boo bear station', where worn and torn stuffed animals could be brought to be repaired.

Communityorganizations like the Infant/Child Development Services at Dilico Anishinabek Family Care were at the picnic to help connect with the families they work with outside of the traditional setting.

"We have a lot of our families out today so it's really nice to make connections and see our families out in the community and having fun," said Jennifer Galbraith, an infant child development worker. The care centrealso set up their popular "teddy bear selfie station."

Ash Young, the cultural development and events supervisor for the city, says the event is well attended and popular among families because it provides a tailored experience for young children.

"It's one of our only events focused on children under five," said Young. "It gives families something to do and gets into the family aspect of it."

Hayley Tinkler came to the Teddy Bear picnic with her sons, Lucas, six, and Hudson, three. Tinkler says she brings her kids to the teddy bear picnic because it's an activity they look forward to, but it also gives parents like her an opportunity to see all the programming and community activities that are available to her kids.

"It's something they look forward to. It's nice, there's a variety of things for them to do and it's all in one place."

Lindsay Nelson hasn't been to teddy bear picnic with her daughter Halle before as she's always been working. But she says it is great to have an event like this to look forward to.

"Even though it's the summer, and it's hot and there's a splash pad available,its nice to have something that's different, that's kind of a special event to go and partake in," said Nelson.