Somerset Bear’s Picnic in the Park 2025
We are thrilled to announce our upcoming event
“Somerset Bear’s Picnic in the Park.”
This is a fantastic opportunity for all Playcentre whānau and their tamariki to come together, have fun, and connect with each other. This is set to become an annual event and is the first of many initiatives to help grow our wider Playcentre community through hapori, which are informal groups of Playcentres.
Event Details
Date: Wednesday, 19 February
Timing: 10am-12pm (so it can be treated as a funded excursion).
What to Bring: Yourselves, your favourite teddy bear, and a picnic.
Location: The locations for each event nationwide can be found in this Excel spreadsheet Somerset Bear’s Picnic in the Park 2025
Why attend?
- Connect with Other Parents: Meet and mingle with other parents from the Playcentre community.
- Build Relationships: Strengthen connections with other Playcentre whānau in your hapori (local community).
- Experience Hapori: Hapori, meaning “community,” promotes connections between geographically close centres, fostering encouragement, idea-sharing, and support.
- Whakawhanaungatanga: At the heart of Hapori is whakawhanaungatanga, which builds connections and relationships. It’s a space for whānau to network, discuss Playcentre, tackle common issues, celebrate successes, and support each other.
Invite Somerset Bear to be a special guest at your own Somerset Bear Picnic.
Somerset Bear is Playcentre’s official ambassador and mascot. This means Somerset Bear gets to visit Playcentres and meet children all over New Zealand. The bear was named after Gwen Somerset, who was the first president of the New Zealand Nursery Play Centre Federation. There’s even a book called The Adventures of Somerset Bear, of which your centre should have a copy. “I’ve got my own backpack and even a diary (that’s a little book that big people write my adventures in).” Read more about Gwen Somerset and the history of Playcentre.
If you’d like Somerset Bear to join in with your own Somerset Bear Picnic, you can enter a draw for him to come along on the day. To enter the draw, please email [email protected] by 5pm, Wednesday 12 February with your contact name and centre name and put “Invite to Somerset Bear” in the subject line. All entries will go into the draw and Somerset Bear will make a personal appearance at the lucky winner’s own Somerset Bear Picnic on the 19th February.
Please remember to take lots of photos and videos and send them through to us so we can share them on our social media pages.
All of the Somerset Bear Picnic in the Park events on 19 February across the motu will be great fun, so save the date in your calendar now and let’s make this a memorable day for everyone!