Grin and Bear it!

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/05/2002 (8777 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AS a little girl, Kristen Armoogum was one of thousands of kids who lugged a much-loved stuffed animal to the Teddy Bears’ Picnic one year to be fixed up with a cast and a kiss at the bear hospital tent.

At age 16, she became one of 6,000 children admitted to Children’s Hospital last year, when a bout of ulcerative colitis necessitated a six-month hospital stay.

Now the grade 11 Shaftesbury High student, discharged on May 10, has her sights set on returning to the hospital some day — but only after she finishes training as a nurse.

“I think that people (at Children’s Hospital) know how to deal with kids our age and they know to make us understand (treatments),” says Kristen, 17, who still keeps in e-mail contact with her nurses. “It is better than being in an adult hospital.”

Keeping children happy is the purpose of the 16th annual picnic sponsored by The Children’s Hospital Foundation, on tomorrow at Assiniboine Park from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., whatever the weather.

“It is to provide a fun and wonderful day for kids, but it is also to provide them information to keep them out of hospital,” co-ordinator Donna McLennan says of the goal behind the city’s first big outdoor free family party of the season, which kicks off at 8 a.m. with pancakes flipped by celebrity cooks.

New this year are the Asthma Adventures tent, where visitors can meet Asthma Allie, and get a close look at his lungs through his alligator skin, as well as learning how to manage this respiratory disease.

An igloo-shaped white tent is the home to another new display sponsored by the province’s snowmobilers and Manitoba Public Insurance. Crawl inside the Polar Bear Den for tips on safe and fun snowmobiling.

Of course, longtime favourites such as the Bear Army Surgical Hospital tent are back to heal hurt stuffed animals and tend to the special needs of tiny preemie beanies. Book your appointment just outside the flaps of the B*A*S*H unit. For bigger bears, the Canadian military will be on hand with a real field hospital.

Camp Healthy Bear is back again in full force, ready to put all willing campers through their safety paces in the Tooth Booth, Safety Walk and Careful Teddy. Compose a tune at the Bearhoven Music Tent and listen to members of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, or create a wonderful craft with Barrister Bear at the Happy Hands tent.

Media celebrities such as MuchMusic’s Bradford How and Danger Girl Dahlia Kurtz of BOB FM will host the mainstage entertainment from The Lyric stage, where Juno winner Al Simmons performs his inventive musical comedy at noon and the all-female TV pop group Sugar Jones takes to the stage at 3 p.m.

To get a closer view of performers, head over to the Cool Cultural Workshop just west of the main stage for cross-cultural dancing, stories and songs with Evans Coffie, native hoop dancer George Bear, and storyteller Bola Olorundare.

All activities are free, but you can show your support for the work of the Children’s Hospital Foundation by purchasing the new green, yellow or orange hug bracelet which snaps on to willing wrists for $2. Bear ears are available for a toonie, and other bear wear is waiting for a new home at the souvenir tent. Visit the new children’s auction tent, where $2 will buy seven chances at great prizes.

For the Armoogum family, the picnic has a special meaning this year.

Years ago, when she took Kristen and her older sister to get their bears patched up, mother Marilyn Armoogum viewed it just as a fun day featuring the Children’s Hospital.

“The kids were healthy and we never, ever thought we would need them,” she says, adding her family received wonderful care at the hospital.

As a veteran of medical procedures, Kristen has a bit of advice for youngsters who will tote their hurt bears to the Teddy Bear Hospital tomorrow.

“If you see your teddy bear get a cast, it might not be as scary when you have to get one (yourself) in the future,” she says.

Park and Ride

If the sun is shining, this event draws crowds in the tens of thousands. Leave your car at the Kapyong Barracks parking lot at the corner of Kenaston and Grant and jump on a free shuttle bus to the park. This bus service picks up and drops off passengers right in front of the Assiniboine Park Pavilion all day between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Mainstage lineup

Big sounds from The Lyric Stage

9 a.m. Khartum Shrine Pipes and Drums

9:30 a.m. Ena Sutton Highland Dancers

10 a.m. Junior Musical Theatre Company

10:30 a.m. Prodigy

10:45 a.m. Tarry Trousers

11:15 a.m. Original Soup

12 noon Al Simmons

1 p.m. Oscar Meija and Grupo Sabor

2 p.m. Just Kiddin’

2:30 p.m. Hinode Taiko Drum Group

3 p.m. Sugar Jones

4 p.m. Orlan Ukrainian Folk Ensemble

The bear facts