The Bear Necessities
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if 29 Friday, July 18,1997 The Bear Necessities By Laurie Lynn Strasser "Queen Elizabear" they concocted from memory: "When you go down The Packet Group wears a sequined tiara, velvet gown to the woods today, you're sure to get For Linda Harwin and her daugh- and fur stole. a surprise/ When you go down to the woods today, you won't believe your ter, Stephanie, the Teddy Bear's Pic- Clad in a robe made of heirogly- phic-print fabric, their King Tut eyes/ For even' bear who ever there nic at Peddler's Village in Lahaska, was/ Will gather there; it's certain Pa., which will take place July 20-21, wears sandals, scarab jewelry, a bracelet on his upper arm and a gold- because/ Today's the day the teddy is no picnic. bears have their picnic." "We don't even have time to eat, en headdress and neck plate. A paint- brush beard sprouts from his chin, The teddy bear itself is named because if you enter more than one , after Theodore Roosevelt, whose bear, you're just, like, running daughter cuddled one of the first around in circles," Ms. Harwin says. bears, made by the Ideal toy com- "It seems like whenever we go, it's "We have 200 pany. 130 degrees, and there's no shade. "He went hunting once and found ' It's nerve-wracking. Everything's bears, maybe this bear cub and said he was not supposed to be based on originality going to shoot it," Mrs. Harwin says. and appearance." more. We have "They made this political cartoon. It The annual picnic — a sort of them in cabinets was tied in with that. In the early Halloween party for plush bruins — 1900s, the Ideal toy company made has become a tradition for the moth- and bags...They're the first teddy bears in the United er-daughter team from Kendall Park. States. They started making the Steiff They have competed for the best- cute and they have ones in Germany earlier, but I don't dressed bears every summer for the personalities. I al- think they called them 'teddy'." past seven years. .Ms. Harwin began collecting ted- "We've come in everything but ways buy it for the dy oeats when her daughter was 3. first — second, third, fourth and hon- Later, friends and relations began orable, mention," Ms. Harwin says. expression." giving Stephanie bears as gifts. At "We've been doing it since she was 8 Linda Harwin the Harwins* first Teddy Bear Day at years old. She is creative and artistic the Philadelphia Zoo in 1988, they rather than scientific. She's always disguised a bear as rock-and-roller been like that." and, in one paw, he holds a scepter Bruce Springsteen, with a little ban- Facing as many as 100 contes- topped with an Egyptian ankh sym- danna and blue jeans. tants in a given category, this could bol. The same year, they decided to be the year Stephanie, a junior at "The heaviest categories are most try the competition in Lahaska. They South Brunswick High School, and original and famous person," says still have the colonial-style bear they Ms. Harwin, who runs the Vermitox Mrs. Harwin. "They're not profes- enrolled in the all-American catego- pest control company with her hus- sional bear makers, but they're very ry. Dressed like a Minuteman with a band, Cliff, bring back the blue. good. But all different kinds of peo- tricorner hat, ruffled shirt, vest, < "You see the same people there ple win. Sometimes little kids win knickers and black, buckled shoes, he every year," Ms. Harwin says. "I something. It doesn't always have to waves a tiny U.S. flag. wouldn't say they're old friends. be professional looking. If they could Ms. Harwin and Stephanie have They're old adversaries." incorporate their young children, it amassed everything from a two-inch At the 14th annual picnic, more would enhance their winning." specimen in a glass case to one that is than $2,300 worth of gift certificates But victory is not the only point of four feet high with a flashing bow tie. for stores in Peddler's Village will be the Picnic. Throughout the weekend, Even their pet dog, a pure-bred Papil- conferred on winners in categories more than 30 artists from across the lon, is registered as Teddy the Pooh and Sissy Too (Sissy is Stephanie's such as most impressive bear, best country will sell hand-made bears, nickname). all-American bear, best vintage bear and the electric fiddle-driven, Phila- (at least 25 years old), best float, delphia-based ragtime band Arty and "We have 200 bears, maybe most original bear, best famous indi- the Hot Katz will perform for four more," Mrs. Harwin says. "We have vidual bear and greatest couple of hours each day. them in cabinets and bags. Now I just bears. buy if they're very old, very unusual Other attractions will include: a or very small." Other categories include: best sculpture made of 150 tons of sand, a What's the appeal? look-alike bear, in which bears and display of a Looff teddy bear from 'T don't know," Mrs. Harwin *<wiBJers.dress the same: and best fed-. the Victorian-era that weighs more says. "I just like them. They're cute dy bear get-together, which requires than 300 pounds, a children's dress- and they have personalities. I always a thematic grouping with a minimum up area with circus props and cos- buy it for the expression." of four bears. tumes and a bear care clinic for those Because his nose and mouth re- "We've entered float, all-Ameri-, "under-the-weather." There also will quired "surgery," a look of bewilder- can, best original, best couple, fa- be appraisals by bear expert Mary ment is frozen on the face of A.G., mous look-alike — I think that's it," Grove, a strolling mascot, photo op- the most venerable bear in the collec- Stephaniesays. "I like going. It's fun. portunities with life-sized stuffed tion, who has competed in many dif- A lot of people pay attention to you bears, a buffet supper and an auction ferent costumes over the years, and take your picture. I like compet- of one-of-a-kind bears. "I always had bears, but he was ing." "People just bring wagons and the first one I remember," Stephanie "One category we haven't entered knapsacks full of bears, not necessar- says. "I used to carry him around all is vintage," her mother says. "There ily to enter," Mrs. Harwin says. the time. are all these little old ladies with 'They just walk around." When she was 12, she and he bears from their childhood. I didn't The extravaganza takes its name both dressed as "Big Beard," based have one when I was a kid." from a song called "Teddy Bears' on Big Bird from the PBS television Stephanie Harwin of Kendall Park and her teddy as twin "Hucklebeary Finns" several years ago. She In the famous people category, Picnic," which is played during the show "Sesame Street." the duo has made bears that resemble parade between the judging and the "I made her this sack," her moth is taking part in the Teddy Bear's Picnic at Peddler's Village in Lahaska, Pa. everyone from genius Albert Einstein award ceremony each day. Trading to child star Shirley Temple. The verses, the Harwins recite the lyrics See BEAR, Page 4 Consultant brings Wall Street savvy to wedding planning Kingston woman helps couples tie the knot By Kathleen McGinn Spring Brides like Ms. Perkins are the reason why profes- The Packet Group sional wedding consulting appears poised for takeoff as an industry. Asked why she turned to a wedding consul- It is probably the most expensive six hours in life, tant, Ms. Perkins said, "First of all, as a professional with the tab easily running to $20,000, and not uncom- working person, I'm busy." monly exceeding $60,000. That's one of the less romantic ways of defining a Part of a demographic shift toward later marriages between professionals who are used to employing ex- wedding, the life-altering rite and $33 billion industry perts for everything from job coaching to landscaping, whose prime season is now in full swing. Ms. Perkins is part of another trend. Given the stakes, it is not surprising that a profession Simply stated, most brides work, and so do their is growing up to make sure those dollars ensure a per- mothers. The bride who once spent months tracking fect day. The myriad organizational chores involved — down dance bands and scouting reception sites may now Where to find lilacs in winter? How to fill the hour be- be in surgery (performing, not undergoing), and her tween ceremony and reception? Buffet or sit-down? DJ mother may well be too involved in corporate planning or band? — are now sometimes being handed to profes- to spend a lot of time on wedding planning. sional-Wedding consultants, who combine in-depth Even the bride who brings superb organizational knowledge of local florists, caterers, photographers and skills to business may not want to be burdened with de- renters of hdrse-drawn carriages, with hand-holding and tails on a once (maybe twice) in a lifetime day. Ms. inter-family dispute resolution skills. Perkins, for example, says she is an organized person, "You use\professionals for your taxes, to take care well able to-Orchestrate a complicated project — profes- of your lawn\ Why not to plan your wedding?" asks sional or personal.