July 20, 2024 marked the 30th edition of our annual Teddy Bears’ Picnic, held in conjunction with the Eugene Public Library at Amazon Park in Eugene, Oregon. We had a fair amount of advance attention for this year’s picnic, including an interview with KLCC radio’s Rachel McDonald and a blog post by Shea Barnes, a Library Recreation and Cultural Services Intern.
Our first picnic, on July 29, 1995 was a fairly modest affair with a crowd made up of Summer Reading Program kids and their families. This year, the library staff estimated our crowd at about 600! We have managed to hold the picnic every year since 1995. During COVID, we created the picnic online as a virtual event with the help of the Library Staff, doing the performance in our backyard, and streaming it to attendees.
The Teddy Bears’ Picnic is always the highlight of our summer. Few things are as joyous as spending a beautiful day in the park with library kids, their families and their stuffies. We’re already looking forward to number 31!