Share, RSS
Sunday, June 7, 2009

A few months back, John David (photo) took the title of International Mr. Bear at IBR hosted by the Bears of San Francisco. This seriously handsome hunk sent in a few words of what he's been up to and what's up and coming for him. From John:

"Hey guys, just a note from the International Mr. Bear front. I have been very busy with several fund raising events in several different states. I have been working closely with the Imperial Court of Kentucky raising money for local charities and was named Leather Daddy of the Year by the court a few weeks ago. With the help of my Bear brothers we have built from the ground up 3 new Bear events one of which will be the first Mr. Virginia Bear/Cub contest in Virginia Beach at The In-Between on July 10th & 11th, and I am in the early stages of planning an appearance at Bear Pride, Cologne, Germany in November. With all of this the focus has to be raising awareness and funds for our charities. In a small city like Lexington, Kentucky that can be a challenge, however, all of the events I have gone to so far have displayed a great willingness to reach out to their communities and do their part and no effort can be too small, every little bit helps".

Share, RSS
Saturday, April 4, 2009

Joe Mannetti, aka Joe Falconi (articles - photo - profile) who recently won the 'Mr. International Daddy Bear' title at IBR is asking for our assistance. He is promoting Life Group and his goal is to raise at least $400, yet Joe says "I would like to raise more for them since they do such outstanding work for the community. I am part of a team of title holders for the Saddle Up LA event". Life Group raises awareness and educates others about HIV/AIDS.

Share, RSS
Saturday, February 21, 2009

Last weekend was IBR ~ International Bear Rendezvous ~ a major event in California hosted by the San Franciscan Bears. It's a full week full of gorgeous Bear men. There's also a ton of events one can participate in, tons of parties to attend, tons of bars and dances, tons of vendors, and then there's the big Mr. IBR contest. With IBR, they have 4 titles and here are the winners from this year's contest:

"From top-left going clockwise that’s Mr. International Bear 2009, John David Elam from Lexington, Kentucky; Mr. International Grizzly Bear 2009, Barry Welch from Madera, California; Mr. International Cub 2009, Jose Ignacio Zurbano from Sevilla, Spain; and Mr. International Daddy Bear 2009 Joe Manetti from Toluca Lake, California" (photo & credits to Bearotic).

Share, RSS
Tuesday, January 27, 2009

 On Saturday, January 31st, Bearracuda (website - articles - profile) are having their very first UnderBear party.

From Bearracuda: "This is also the long awaited return of our beloved friend, DJ Sam Storicks, to Bearracuda's decks.  Along with Boyshapedbox, they'll be tearing up the dance floor in their undies. IBR Weekend is a mere 2 weeks away and we have a triple threat of parties for your pleasure. Check out the details here. Bearracuda is located inside Deco at 510 Larkin @ Turk in San Francisco. Free Massages upstairs; smoking on the patio; Hot and Cold snacks in the pool room".

Share, RSS
Friday, January 16, 2009

Open 'er up and take a look under the hood... whaddya find...? That IBR is just around the corner. International Bear Rendezvous is hosted by the Bears of San Francisco and it's all happening from February 12th thru the 16th. This year's theme is 'Mechanics - Bears under the Hood'.

From their site: "The event fosters a sense of community among participants while at the same time raising money for agencies serving the gay and HIV communities at the local, state, and national level. Fundraising is accomplished primarily through raffles, auctions, and direct donations from participants and the community. Since the first Rendezvous in 1995, the net proceeds have resulted in donations totaling over $435,000 to many non-profit organizations".

Share, RSS
Friday, November 14, 2008

It wasn't too long ago that LOGO aired a documentary called Bear Run the Movie, directed by Dan Hunt. Unfortunately I don't get LOGO so I wasn't able to see it, however if you missed it as well, you can purchase the DVD for $29.95 from their site. It's well worth it since all I've been hearing are praises from all those who saw it. And in other news, Dan Hunt (pic #1 - pic #2) was interviewed in the latest issue of BEEF Mag (website - article - cover).

The following is a snippet of the movie from their site: "Award-winning documentarian Dan Hunt has created a delightful, intimate - and surprising - portrait of what it means to be a maturing gay man in the new millennium. BEAR run tracks the contemporary rituals, language, values  and evolving aesthetic of bear culture, by following three characters  as they romp through the '06-'08 event circuit Bear Albany, International Bear Rendezvous, Bear Week – Provincetown, Bear Trek and Lazy Bear Weekend... among others".

Share, RSS
Monday, August 4, 2008

If you didn't catch the premiere of Bear Run The Movie (article) on LOGO, you can still catch the reprise today (August 4th) and again on August 24th... or... even better... pick up your own DVD copy of this documentary that was directed by Dan Hunt.

This 'director's cut' DVD is now available from their site. What you receive is extra stories from their lovable characters Louie, Mikhael, Mike and their friends; a 'Bear History' and insights about our community from the experts; Louie's wild home movies; footage of Bears and Cubs at International Bear Rendezvous (website - articles), Lazy Bear Weekend (website - articles), Bear Week P-Town (website - articles), Bear Trek (website - articles) and other events around the country.

Share, RSS
Tuesday, January 29, 2008

If you ever plan to head on over to San Francisco, there's certain things you must do. Take a picture of yourself on the corner of Haight & Ashbury, walk the Golden Gate bridge, hang out with the Bears of San Francisco at the Lone Star Saloon, and on Friday night, play bingo with The Sisters of Perpertual Indulgence.

The sisters work very closely with the Bear community in San Francisco and for IBR they are managing 2 fundraisers. Visit their site to learn more about these hairy nuns and find out what's on their upcoming schedule of angelic good deeds.

Share, RSS
Sunday, December 23, 2007

It's time to get busy and register with IBR - International Bear Rendezvous, with only a couple of months left until the event happens (February 14th thru the 18th). The following update from the Bears of San Francisco should be reason enough to get your registration in soon: "on behalf of the IBR 2008 Coordinators and planning committee, we'd like to cordially invite you to International Bear Rendezvous 2008. While there's plenty of time until the event, we'd like to let you know of some reasons to register as soon as possible: IBR has registered 75% of our capacity on Gold and Platinum packages. The Host Hotel is similarly booked . 'An Evening With Kathy Griffin' at the Castro Theatre is 57% booked after just 12 days of public sale. This is planned to be filmed for Kathy's Emmy award-winning Bravo reality show! Some optional events are at or over 50% of their capacity quickly, such as the new Napa Valley Wine Experience, SF Bus Tour, Beach Blanket Babylon".

Share, RSS
Sunday, October 28, 2007

It's hard to believe but IBR is under 4 months away ~ the event which is hosted by the Bears of San Francisco from February 14th thru the 18th.

The following is from BOSF: "IBR is pulling all the stops to make this a year to remember ! We have a full entertainment line-up that we hope you'll like a lot: The Bearitones, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Mark Alan Smith and our weekend Emcee will be the Bear extraordinaire, Dominick Zurlo. Our Mr. International Bear contest will be wowed by members of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus.

Remember that all IBR packages include unlimited draft beer in our hospitality suite/bar (suspended during cocktail hours and nightly show hours), two Vendor Maul daily beer samples, our IBR shuttle buses to get you safely from door to door to our official events, and much more! That alone is worth your registration, but we're adding on more partner events like 'B'Eros', the extremely popular and spectacular IBR dance-partner events including Sweat, Play, Bearracuda and Kandy 3: Kavity.

Please sign up ASAP while all registration packages and optional events are still available, including our new Napa Valley Wine Experience and Golden Gate Experience.  You will be able to easily edit your registration to add the Castro Theatre event after your register, and we will have separate tickets available just for IBR attendees so that the public doesn't buy them all! Because there is a limited capacity for this event, we recommend advanced registration. Click on the link to register online".

Share, RSS
Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Press Release from the Bears of San Francisco - International Bear Rendezvous '08 registration is open, and that means it's time to visit our website to register for IBR! While it's many months away, there are a limited number of packages available.

This is our 14th year. The event will take place on President's Day Weekend - February 14th thru the 18th (yes, it starts with Valentine's day this year - awww!).

This year the theme is Bear Patrol - Bears in Uniform. We are celebrating those who are uniformed and/or badge-wearing. There will be plenty of opportunities to break out that fireman, security guard, and cub scout uniforms.

If you're interested in donating something for IBR's silent or live auctions, or would like to become a contestant, vendor, advertiser, sponsor, or partner, please feel free to use the downloadable forms on our website. If your Bear organization would like to host a free Club Day table, and/or be willing to staff a block-hour shift at our Hospitality Suite/bar, please let us know!

Share, RSS
Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Press Release - "Bears of San Francisco and The Complete Bear have officially kicked off a Bear drive aimed at the local Bear and GLBT community. Teddy bears collected will be donated to the SFFD Toys for Tots program benefiting needy children in the Bay Area this holiday season.

"To kick of this effort, we are pleased to have 20 Bears donated by the artist, Frisch - website . His generosity and support of the community has consistently proven him to be a leader in the SF Bear community", said Rich Tramontozzi, President of BOSF. The official kick off party of the drive, as well as Frisch's send off to Palm Springs will be held on October 11th at The Lone Star Saloon . "Bring a Bear, have a beer and come toast one of the true great Bears of San Francisco", urged Mike Doherty of The Complete Bear.

Frisch has been drawing cartoons which have published in the community since 1986. Frisch is a cofounder of the 'Bear Expo', 'International Bear Rendezvous' and The Bears of San Francisco'.

Frisch Bears and logos have been imprinted on over 25,000 tshirts, hats and more in the past 20 years. Frisch drawings have raised over $51,000 for charity in the past 20 years.

The Bears of San Francisco and The Complete Bear invite you share in the holiday spirit by donating new, unwrapped teddy bears until December 16th. Bears can be brought to the kick-off event or be dropped off at 2339 3rd Street, Suite 21 San Francisco, CA 94107, from 9AM to 6PM Monday through Friday".

Read more interesting articles of at Chewin' The Fat - latest issue.

Share, RSS
Monday, July 2, 2007
A couple of weeks ago I posted an article about some reviews from Bears ~ The Movie (MySpace page ~ poster ~ trailer). All of the reviews were positive. I haven't seen the movie and I guess I'm just going to have to wait until the DVD comes out of maybe it will be available on the net at some point. However, here's another more in-depth review from Les Wright (Bear Book I, Bear Book II, Bear History Project). Here's a snippet from Les' blog: "The climax of each IBR is the International Mr. Bear competition, and as Bears documents, service and fun combine to make for a strenuous run for the sash. As long-time emcee, the late Lurch (who appears in Bears) was always wont to say, 'Everyone who runs is already a winner'. The competition culminates with the bestowal of four separate titles. The 2004 contestant base offers a typical mix of Bearish types in friendly competition. Some, such as Mr. So Cal Bear, build upon a natural sense of showmanship and competitive spirit, while others demonstrate their own flavor of natural bear spirit. Mr. Kentucky Bear is a former Marine and horse-breeder, a 'man's man', who would have been a natural for the leather community of a previous generation, and Mr. New York Bear, a bagpipe-playing, big-boned, and even bigger-hearted blond, who epitomizes (unself-consciously) much of the open-hearted, compassionate, fun-loving, even civic-minded 'inclusivity', which was the original hallmark and rallying cry of the Bears back in the 1980s".