Published April 2, 2020

COME ALONG on a wild adventure this weekend! It’s the Stuffed Animal Safari. All you need do is put a stuffed animal anywhere that will be visible from the street — window, doorway, mailbox or hanging from a tree, like me, whee! Then, anytime on Saturday and Sunday, take the kids on a drive around town through the jungle and have them identify and count all the animals they see. Social distancing can be fun. (Courtesy Photo)

NORTH READING — A wild adventure awaits the town’s youngsters and the young-at-heart this weekend as they travel on a Stuffed Animal Safari throughout town.

How do you participate? It’s easy! Simply find your favorite stuffed animals and place them in your window, in your doorway, on top of your mailbox, or hanging in a bush or a tree that is easily seen from the street and passing cars on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

“Feel free to add more than one stuffed animal,” said organizer Gabi Brennan. “The goal is to drive around town and try to identify and count how many stuffed animals sightings you find on your ‘safari.’ This is a creative way to have a community event, but still respect social distancing and stay-at-home orders from Governor Baker,” she said.

Brennan even created a public interactive map on Google Maps where addresses of those participating can be added anonymously. It can be accessed by going to this site: https://bit.ly/2xARaU1

The map will be deleted after the event is over, she said.

“If you are having trouble adding your address to the map, please email me at NorthReadingSafari@gmail.com and I will be happy to add it,” she said. While this is not a requirement for participating in the event, it might help in the number of “sightings.”

“Our Town Administrator and other town officials have reviewed this event and gave it the thumbs-up, but they remind drivers to follow the rules of the road. They also discourage folks from making stops or frequently getting in and out of their cars,” she said.

To visit the Facebook page affiliated with this site go to: https://bit.ly/33Y2yoV

As of press time nearly 80 families had signed on.

For those who will take photos of the event Brennan asks participants to use #NRSafari when posting to social media.

Brennan is hoping the event will go viral as it promises to be a fun and exciting adventure for the kids to look forward to doing.