Editor’s note: This story will be updated as Bloom receives additional reports of teddy bear sightings.
Bloomingtonians living in the Elm Heights neighborhood have started a teddy bear hunt to help entertain children and promote exercise during the statewide COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) lockdown.
Along South Fess Avenue and on nearby streets, residents have placed teddy bears and other stuffed animals of various shapes, sizes, and colors in their windows for children to spot while out on walks with their guardians.
Elm Heights resident Ann Armstrong says she first heard of the project from a friend living in California and decided to bring it to Bloomington. Her house on South Fess Avenue has two teddy bears in the front window.
Ann’s daughter Nancy and her two children live next door and have also placed bears in two windows.
According to Bloom reader TammyJo on Instagram, the Park Ridge neighborhood has organized similar projects, holding both teddy bear and rainbow hunts. In Marlin Hills, residents have hidden shamrocks and rainbows for passersby to find, says Facebook user Heidi Morgan Schulz.
Outside of Bloomington, teddy bear hunts are currently taking place in Richmond, Virginia, and Lafayette, Louisiana, as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
