Grab your stuffie and get ready for a great day of furry fun at the annual Teddy Bears' Picnic!

The Teddy Bears' Picnic, now in its 33rd year, will have kids and their furry friends taking over Assiniboine Park once again on Sunday, May 26 in support of the Children's Hospital Foundation of Manitoba (CHFM).

Each year, kids and their bears (or other stuffed friends) are treated to a day of events and great entertainment. In keeping with the theme of the CHFM, sick stuffies can be treated at the Dr. Goodbear Clinic, as well as receive eyeglasses, see a dentist, and more.

A lot of new and exciting features have been added to this year's event, says Tanya Williams, director of communications for the CHFM.

Hair healthcare is one of the newest additions to the picnic's lineup, according to Williams, to teach kids the importance of health and hygiene.

"You don't think about it... We noticed how much anxiety kids can develop when they're getting their first haircut."

While at the station, kids can not only learn about how to care for their hair, but also get a quick cut or have their hair styled - on both themselves and their bear.

Other new initiatives that will help raise funds for the CHFM include an online 50/50 draw and a Dr. Goodbear collector's pin.

Volunteers are a huge part of the reason for the success of the CHFM fundraising event each year, with hundreds of hours put in at the Dr. Goodbear tent alone. Some volunteers have spent over 20 years of experience in seeing the picnic through to success.

"The entire Dr. Goodbear Clinic is  staffed with Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital Research Institute volunteers, people who have taken time out of their busy schedules from their crazy weeks here, giving back to teach kids the importance of their health."

Williams has been active in planning and executing the Teddy Bears' Picnic for the past seven years, and says that the impact the event has had on her own life has been immense.

Following Williams' family's move back to Winnipeg, she took her young daughter to visit the Teddy Bears' Picnic, and particularly, the Dr. Goodbear Clinic. "[She] took her little teddy bear and got his x-ray and his teeth checked and the whole bit," recalled Williams.

A few months later, Williams' daughter contracted a rare disease and was admitted to the Children's Hospital.

"Even though I knew how fantastic the doctors and nurses and all the health care professionals are here, I was scared," Williams shared, "but I didn't want to let her see that."

But Williams had no idea how her daughter's positive experience at the picnic only a few months earlier had affected her.

"She looked at me with her big blue eyes and she was like, 'mom, it's like being at the Teddy Bears' Picnic. I get to sleep over at the Children's Hospital. How cool is that?'"

Williams says it is this that has made her passion the Teddy Bears' Picnic and the work it does to not only support the CHFM but to show kids and volunteers the incredible work that the Children's Hospital does.

Make sure to come prepared with a smile and your teddy! The Teddy Bears' Picnic comes to Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park on Sunday, May 26. The picnic will kick off with a pancake breakfast starting at 8:00 a.m. before the gates officially open to the public at 9:00 a.m. Plan your day here.

"That's when all the fun begins," Williams smiled.