What started as an idea for an intimate gathering of 50 Lily the Bear fans at the North American Bear Center, blossomed in ways organizers didn’t at first envision.

Considering those fans met on the Internet via Facebook, it’s not surprising they showed up in Ely last weekend about 300-strong, from all over the U.S. and other countries.

According to co-organizers Jen McCron from Ontario, and Jennifer Smith from Ohio, the whole point was for fans of Lily and her cub Hope to meet each other in person and raise some funds for the NABC. But McCron said about two weeks after they launched the idea they knew they had something bigger on their hands.

The “Lilypad” event spanned three days from Friday, July 30 to Sunday, Aug. 1. Organizers were expecting over 300 people and at least 200 fans attended the “Lilypad Picnic” alone. The main idea of a simple picnic turned into a fundraiser for the NABC thanks, to Lily’s Facebook fans.

Dealing with the details required some quick action at the onset of the idea. The two women formed a committee almost immediately and started a website to accommodate the traffic.

McCron said she and Smith didn’t know each other at the time they hatched their idea, but have since become best friends. Six months ago they met online when they kicked around the idea of a get-together. By chance they were posting messages at the same moment. When McCron realized they were writing over each other, she said she wrote back the next day to verify the potential. “I’m serious about this,” she told Smith.

The “two Jens,” now known by Lily fans as “The JJs,” met face-to-face for the first time on the Thursday before the party started.

The Lilypad committee wasn’t skimpy with activities for participants. They included photo sessions with the NABC bears, Sunday brunch with NABC biologists Dr. Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, admission discounts to the center, and the picnic at the Kawishiwi Campground with a silent auction, face painting and storytelling for kids.

Organizers also devised a scavenger hunt called “Search for Hope.” On Saturday morning, participating teams met at the Bear Center to receive their first clue, then scavenged throughout Ely for additional clue boxes. They said the real Hope wasn’t part of the search, but fans had fun.

During the evenings, Lilypad participants also had exclusive visitation time at the center. The facility remained open until 10 p.m. for special programming. Attendees could watch a bear movie marathon or browse among the exhibits and gift shop. Bonfires were also held in the parking lot.

Lynn Rogers said he continues to be surprised and overwhelmed—in a good way—that over 111,000 Facebook fans have such a desire to learn about bears.

“I never anticipated this kind of response. It shows the public hunger for information about bears,” he said. “These radio-collared bears are doing wonders for tourism as well as for science.”

This was the first year for the Lilypad doings. Though planning took six months, McCron said she likes the idea of helping protect wildlife.

“It has to do with the good the NABC is doing,” she said. “It’s raising awareness and reducing humans’ fears of bears.”

Smith said planning was fun but she didn’t realize the scale it would eventually take on.

“We’re amazed at the turnout,” she said. “It looks like it’s going to raise a lot of money for the Bear Center.”

With the first event in the books, she added that next year they’ll know what improvements to make and how to do them more easily.