Picnic time for teddy bears as families gather in Bridgnorth for fun-filled day out
If you had gone down to Bridgnorth Castle this week, you would've been in for a big surprise.
Families from Bridgnorth and beyond gathered for a fun-filled day of activities, as the town council hosted its annual Teddy Bears Picnic.
The Teddy Bears Picnic took place on the Castle Grounds on Thursday, from 11am to 2pm, and around 100 people of all ages attended, bringing with them their favourite cuddly toys.
There was a Best Dressed Teddy Bear competition, as well as a bouncy castle, face painting, puppet shows and of course, picnic baskets full of refreshments.
Mayor of Bridgnorth Rachel Connolly thanked the town council for organising the event and said: "It was a lovely day. We had rain first thing but then it dried up and turned into a really nice day.
"It was full with at least 100 people there, all with their teddy bears - and I brought my own bear as well.
"Everyone seemed to have a great time. There was a puppet show, the ukulele band and the Bridgnorth Library were there too.
"The town council have been putting on the event after a former mayor started it a number of years ago and it's proved very popular ever since.
"I wanted to thank the town council for putting it on and for the first week of the school holidays, putting something on for families that's affordable."
Clare Turner, town clerk at Bridgnorth Town Council added: "It was a lovely day. I even brought my bear Alice. It really was a wonderful day.
"To see the children running up with the bears to wave at the Severn Valley Railway train as they went by was so nice to see as was seeing all the different generations of families and their teddy bears all sat together."
Emma Spenser, library operations and development manager added: "t was really good, we have taken part in the picnic before it's really good for us at the Library to meet with children and promote our Summer Reading Challenge.
"We have a whole programme of events which are either free or a minimum fee because we understand with the cost-of-living crisis and it's important we support our community as best as possible."
She went on to say that the day was filled with community spirit and it was good to see families coming to see the puppet show and stalls – and the team are looking forward to taking part next year.
