With little knowledge of the radio program, story and tradition of the Cinnamon Bear; Beth and I, and two of our little gals boarded the Portland Spirit and set sail on a morning cruise down the Willamette river. We were excited to learn more about the history of the series that first aired between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 1937 and became a well-loved Portland tradition.
Upon boarding Captain Taffy greeted us and we had a quick photo taken with him. He was a big hit with the gals. After boarding we helped ourselves to yummy pastry and fruit from a well-stocked buffet while our girls enjoyed hot cocoa and acquainted themselves with some colorful fairies on hand to help out. We later heard the Cinnamon Bear story as told by the beautiful Queen Melissa, another character in the book. The children were transfixed by the story and all of the characters on board including the pirate Captain Taffy, Cinnamon Bear and the Crazy Quilt Dragon among others.
After the storytelling, the children were summoned to the second deck of the Spirit to have their photo taken with the Cinnamon Bear, and much to our surprise there were no tears in the place. Children seemed to adore this sweet bear and were very happy to sit with him.
Meanwhile, the adults seemed in the holiday spirit, soaking up the experience and gazing out the window at the beautiful scenery beyond the Willamette river. It was an amazing view and wonderful to see the city from a different vantage point. As the cruise concluded, the children watched a magic show by Mr. Presto the Magician and were gleefully surprised by the appearance of a bunny in the last act of his show. Kids again lined up for a chance to pet the bunny.
A great time was had by all aboard the Cinnamon Bear cruise. Some of the older children who clearly had been on the cruise before collected autographs from all of the characters and relished in every moment. We really enjoyed ourselves and can see why many families have created an annual holiday tradition out of the experience.