10th annual Teddy Bear Picnic draws record crowd

By KYLE ODEGARD


Gazette-Times reporter

Sarah Bolf had a difficult and important decision to make Thursday morning: Which of her beloved stuffed animals should she bring to the Teddy Bear Picnic in Central Park?

The 5-year-old chose “Leafy,” a purple bear that she sang and danced with and tossed in the air during the annual event hosted by the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.

Four-year-old Reese Grube of Philomath didn’t have such a dilemma. “Cuddles is the favorite bear in the bear hierarchy,” explained Reese’s mom, Jennifer Grube.

“I build her from Build-A-Bear in Minnesota,” Reese said. She squeezed the stuffed animal’s paw and a recording said, “I love you.”

Jennifer Grube said her two daughters have about 15 bears of all different sizes, shapes and fluffiness. “They’re very important for bed time. On a scale of one to 10, they’re an eight.”

The Teddy Bear Picnic, which featured music by Galliump! and an appearance by Curious George, has been held for more than 10 years, said Curtis Kiefer, the library’s youth services manager.

“I’m not aware of another one in Oregon,” he said.

This year’s turnout at the picnic was its biggest, with more than 500 people gathering around the Central Park gazebo. And there were at least twice that many stuffed animals in attendance, including tigers, rabbits and, of course, (this is Corvallis, after all) beavers.

Eight-year-old Sarah McCullough, sitting on a picnic blanket with her 5-year-old brother Fontaine, brought all four of her bears.

“They’re fun to cuddle and sleep with,” she said.

“We have a lot of teddy bear friends, and they were ready for an outing. It’s good to see others of your kind,” smiled mom Andrea McCullough.