Teddy bears take their picnic to Sydney Adventist Hospital

If you’d been down in the woods yesterday, you would have had a big surprise. Teddy bears across Sydney were kind enough to invite their humans along to their special Teddy Bears’ Picnic held on the front lawn of Sydney Adventist Hospital (the San) on 10th May.  

Teddy bears of all shapes and sizes gathered with more than 700 mums, dads, babies, toddlers, grandparents – overjoyed at finally being able to picnic together again after three interrupted covid years.

It was a great opportunity for returning San families to interact with new families of San babies, while catching up with the hospital’s obstetricians, midwives, paediatricians and women’s health staff. For maternity staff and doctors, the Teddy Bears’ Picnic is the highlight of the year – getting to see the babies they delivered and how much they’ve grown and developed. The San has been delivering babies for over 100 years, and in recent years, on average the hospital delivers about 2000 babies annually. 

In true teddy bear picnic style, there were lots of marvellous things to eat, and wonderful games to play. The San Bear mascot showed other teddies how much fun it is to give lots of bear hugs and pose for photos with new parents and bubs.

With face painting, play equipment, delicious food and snacks, a photobooth and gift bags filled with goodies, everyone was sure of a treat. Children’s entertainers, The Beanies, performed a show on stage to the delight of the crowd, and even tired little teddies and toddlers had big smiles on their faces. 

At the end of the picnic – if you listened very carefully – you would have heard a few strains of the Teddy Bears’ picnic song: For every bear that ever there was, gathered there for certain because, it was the day the teddy bears had their picnic.