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iw- eremksotmrt r- f ibymikeadler ookpik pretends to be very scared when jonathon atkinson 8 wacks her on the chest s ookpik the puffinlike symbol pf richmond hills winter carnival has all the mascot moves waving v enormous eyes with her thickly hands wiggling hey butt around ookpik even shows off her macarena for some children in a markham parkette i- s soon afterward ookpik faqs s- back on the grass exhausted and she couldnt get up on her ovwi you probably sweat out 20 pounds said jill desnoyer the vet- t eririarian clinic volunteer who r emerges from the costume v mascots walk among us shuf- t fling into our classrooms picnics i and civicfestivalsrheijfwprkis in y all cases important buvdo we spare i a thought fdrtheersbnanside breathing through mesh i r doctor bbar is tsweatin buck- i ets reported magda rigocommu- 4 nity resources director at markham p- stouffville hospital- wheredoctqr r- bear eases the anxieties of criildreh fr awaiting surgery he might be his own first patient ridiculous feet playing ozzie the environmental v services owl isnt mucri easier its justjike wearing a really 1 hairy sweatshirt devorij r hutchinson a town of markham summerstudent said of her first experience inside ozzie earlier she needed a helper to walk inlozzies oversized shoes because i cant go on my own these feet are ridiculous eight vmascots the block i parent block puppy chuckleberry from stouffvilles strawberry festival doctor bear the markham fairs faircfow markhams millennium mark ookpik ozzie and yorkie- from the united way of york region came to the parkette one after- noon and neighbourhood children were thrilled u theyte funny jonathon theyrecuddly and theyre soft l m of themhkldsaidkarly nagel 6 who- haabeen tickling obkpiksfeet- kids olderthan graded might s punch rnascotsbut jyounger like them added jonathoris brother i christopher atkinsdnid ifi his frienddylan firidlay 9 i poked chuckleberrya round widey srhiling fruif with hands whereits ears might be s- lf creatorvivian black reinforced v- s wheh staff photosjoerd wittevfen york region mascots gatheredwith neighbourhood kids to strut their stuff andtest their routines start collapsing she said black a former head of cos tumes for torontos santa claus parade likes to give her mascots the best field of vision and movement possiblenothing destroys the iuu- sion more she said than seeing a mascot being led by a handler blacks richmond hill company storybox productions also designed the towns new linton the lion a possible masterpiece as well as l lucky duck the bright orange mascot who appears at countless city of vaughan happen ings the citys special events coordi nator heather who hangs lucky on her office coat rack recit ed his job description he has to be happy he cant speak and he hands things out heagle said and he has to be happy doctor bear has helped the hos pital for 10 years often with a eal doctor inside before that there was doctor rod a kangaroo mascot who proved hard to handle rigo said he had a big tail that knocked people over 4 yorkie described as elmp6f sesame street fame with a hat was created 11 years ago saidsiie wookey a united way campaign assistant n v theywanted him tolook some- thing likethisshe addedpresent- mg a small gopglyeyed pompom pjathlngyoivd see stuck to sofne- tones c6mpiiteifhesn6t supposed to be any pawcularanimal j faircrow which has a wdrldiig fah in his head isa 12yearrold ambassaclorfbr markharris largest fall event the scarecrow has been v a guardian of agriculture david morrison the fairs general manager said theres severa otherrriascqts in the form of animals cows and pigs we wanted something unique s ozziewhich helps teach chil- dren ehvirohmental lessons can be quite expressive with his wingsbut seems restricted in his lower bodyi from another planet vv the belly is around my legs hutchinson complained to niake the heavy t costume bearable v wears acqqj- ing vest underneath in whichwater- chilled the night before is pumped through plastic tubes block puppy is used in scfibols by block parents in- markhanifand unionville to promote childreirs safety it just grabs their attention a little bit more said marianne macbride millennium mark looking likea fourfingered lion in a flash gordon suit is harder to explain i think hes come from another planet and hes helping us celebrate the newmir lennium said handler nicolej carter a summer student on the markham 2000 committee v a mascot is partly entertain- ment partly a method of reaching a particular t public said keith thirgqpd of markhams capstone commutations groups which has vdesigned half a dozen mascots tthjrgbpd and partner helen walter designed millie a millipede making its debut atthe mulikenchildrens festival in markriam next month vfindesigningmillie he- said capstonehad to consider the ages- and cultures of chudreh who might haveto make sense of it its not just a matter of asking what would be cool thirgood viiuurucuciiy wiicii capciiciinng j i- z 7777 heat and childrens die first- christopher atkinson f with v karly nagel 6 with york region tanner nagel 8 with dr bear of time out- it got a little squashed ookpik richmond hill winter united way mascot yorkie the markham stouffville hospital tmntmnon they would hug it and it would camvial mascot f i t t