Beastly pets
Picnic for children of all ages.
Everyone’s invited with all, or any of their favourite teddies, to Wellington’s annual Teddy Bear’s Picnic. One year an eager picniker brought 106 of her ursine toys.
The old song, from which the name of the picnic came, dates back to 1932. Teddy bears have more history.
There have probably been cuddly toys for ever, but they became much more popular after the late 1880’s when the German Steiff company developed a new technology for making upholstery and that same process made the manufacture of stuffed toys a commercial practicality.
But teddy bears didn’t show up until a few years later. In 1902, The Washington Post ran a cartoon of US president “Teddy” Roosevelt, a keen hunter, who had refused to shoot a captive black bear because it was too easy.
Poor New York sweet shop owners Rose and Morris Michtom saw the drawing. Rose made a stuffed bear cub with buttons for eyes and they put it in the window, and called it Teddy’s Bear.
The rest is history, and along with timeless British classics Winnie the Pooh and Paddington Bear, the little beasts have been favourites with the young (and not so young) ever since.
Many teddies and teddy admirers are expected at this year’s picnic. There are prizes for the owners of the most, and the biggest bears.
Interislander Teddy Bears’ Picnic, Frank Kitts Park, Wellington, January 29, 12 noon - 4.45pm.
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