Amy Starr of Gorham came up with the idea to hold a Teddy Bear Hunt after seeing Facebook posts from friends in Rhode Island. The concept, which became a national craze, is a scavenger hunt suited for social distancing, according to the New York Times. People put teddy bears and other stuffed animals in windows, on porches, in trees and on parked cars. Then, children go for walks or drives with their families and try to spot as many as they can.

Starr said, “At the time I didn’t know that people were doing it all over, I just thought WOW we should do this here in Gorham because selfishly I needed to entertain my own kids.”

She originally planned to ask a few neighbors and friends to take part. One friend suggested that she share the idea on the Gorham, Maine Facebook page and from there it took off. She also reached out to Baxter Memorial Library and arranged a staff reading of “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” on the story time live feed.

While the hunt was originally scheduled to take place on April 7 immediately following the story time, the stay at home order forced Starr to rearrange the event in less than 24 hours to take place on April 1, before the Governor’s order went into effect.

Many families asked to be added to a map that Starr created using maphub. While it’s difficult to calculate the exact number of families who participated, Starr believes hundreds of bears were put up around Gorham and at least 100 families took part in the hunt.

“Hundreds of teddy bears and other stuffies adorned windows, front porches, mailboxes and more throughout our amazing town. To hear from community members who participated either by waking, driving or displaying, you made the day a resounding success, but more importantly came together in a time of uncertainty to spread joy together.”

Prizes were awarded to the top three finishers and were sponsored by Starr’s company, Go Nest Property Management. As a father to two young children, her boss was excited to see the excitement surrounding the event. Keeping it local, Starr purchased Beal’s gift cards for the winners and made personalized stuffies as a non-food option.

“It truly was a humbling, wonderful event and showed me once again what an amazing community Gorham is,” said Starr.