ButteNews.net
July 2, 2023
When Butte’s Fourth of July Parade tools down Harrison Ave. on Tuesday, the fourth float from the beginning will have a new and improved mascot.
The Toys for Tots Teddy Bear won’t be an inanimate stuffed animal, but a talking breathing retired Marine.
The Marine Corps League float will be accompanied by “the first interactive mascot for Toys for Tots in the US,” Michael Taapken said.
Taapken had the costume made and wore it in the Parade of Lights, he said during an interview in his restaurant. Now he breaks it out for American independence and holiday gifts for kids in need.
Taapken owns the I Don’t Know Cafe at the corner of Park and Main in Butte, and he is retired from the Marine Corps.
The program turned 75 last year and has distributed 652 million toys to 291 million children, according to the Toys for Tots website.
