Picnic time for teddy bears
If you headed down to Te Manawa yesterday, you sure got a big surprise. A teddy bears’ picnic was held and children of all ages congregated at the Palmerston North museum to enjoy some fairy bread and story time. Te Manawa chief executive Andy Lowe said the museum had not held an event like this for a long time. Event developer Matt Crehan said he came up with the idea to tie in with Teddy Bear Picnic Day. ‘‘The kids are loving it, it’s so fun.’’ Two books were read to the children, one in te reo Mao¯ ri and one in English, and then they were invited to snack on fairy bread and iced animal biscuits and raisins. The event was a good opportunity to bring everyone together, Crehan said. Every bear that ever there was gathered there and the children had a lovely time. Crehan said even some adults joined in. ‘‘It’s amazing to see how many actually brought teddies along with them.’’ Paige Mabey, 7, Aria Miller, 6, and Leah Mabey, 5, brought their favourite toys along to celebrate the day. Paige had an animal called Fluffy, Aria had a panda and Leah a dog. The girls said they enjoyed eating and colouring-in at the event. Aria said she had been to one teddy bears’ picnic before at school, but she didn’t take a teddy to it. This time, she decided to bring along her teddy. Crehan said the event had been a hit. About 12 o’clock, mums and dads took home their tired children and teddy bears.