HARBOUR CITY BEARS
BEAR ESSENTIALS 16: IT’S A WHOLE NEW BALL GAME

Bear Essentials is back: bigger, ballsier and more bearish than ever.

For 16 years, Harbour City Bears has been the sensation of the Sydney Mardi Gras season, a festival of bear events to coincide with Sydney’s greatest party and premier gay event.

This year for the first time, Bear Essentials will be running alongside the Mardi Gras festival for the full three weeks, rivalling it not only in length but also in vitality and diversity of events.

There are the dance parties, including the incredibly popular Chunky and Underbear parties, and a Mardi Gras eve party, the likes of which Oxford St has never seen, over all four levels of the Oxford Hotel (not to mention play parties at Kingsteam and HeadQuarters).

There’s a return of the signature Bear Essential events like the legendary pool party, beach day, art show and the trip to the Blue Mountains, along with new events that are sure to become fixtures, like a night of fun and games at Strike EQ.

Then there are those rare experiences not likely to be repeated, like the launch of the Harbour City Bear’s history booklet by noted academic Garry Wotherspoon. Even HCB’s regular nights like Furry Fridays at the Oxford and Bears on Sunday at the Lord Roberts will have an extra edge with international guest DJs and local favourites.

Bear Essentials 16 is a real game changer and in keeping with this, Bear Essentials 16 has adopted a sports theme that is sure to appeal to rugger buggers, footy fiends, swimfans, armchair athletes, or anyone who likes the look of a furry man in sports kit. And as the title suggests, ‘it’s a whole new ball game’ as Harbour City Bears kick it out of the park, creating a festival that could now easily compete as the biggest bear event in the world.

And like all the best games, the play is divided into two halves:

First Half: February 11 to February 24

Kick Off: Chunky FC - Sat 11 Feb @ Q-Bar
Fair Day Recovery - Sun 12 Feb @ Victoria Park
Bears on Sunday - Sun 12 Feb @ Lord Roberts Hotel

Club History - Mon 13 Feb @ Polo Lounge
Time Out - Wed 15 Feb @ ACON
Season Opener - Thu 16 Feb @ Cinema Paris, Entertainment Quarter
Footy Frenzy Charity Night - Fri 17 Feb @ Oxford Hotel
Bear Shorts - Sat 18 Feb @ Riverside Theatres
Pool Comp, Bears on Sunday - Sun 19 Feb @ Lord Roberts Hotel

Our Defence - Mon 20 Feb @ Harmony Park
Cubz with Balls - Tue 21 Feb @ Strike EQ

Game On - Wed 22 Feb @ Headquarters on Crown
Tour De Bears - Thu 23 Feb @ Monstrosity Gallery
Wet Furr: Swimming Gala - Fri 24 Feb @ Cook + Phillip Park Aquatic Centre
Furry Friday - Fri 24 Feb @ Oxford Hotel

Second Half: February 25 to March 4

Super Saturday - Sat 25 Feb @ Golden Harbour Restaurant / Seymour Centre / Fleet Steps
Scrum Together - Sun 26 Feb @ Lord Roberts Hotel
Surf Carnival - Mon 27 Feb @ North Bondi Beach
Walkabout - Tue 28 Feb @ Taylor Square, Darlinghurst
Away Game - Wed 29 Feb @ Sydney Travelodge Hotel
Main Event: Underbear - Wed 29 Feb @ Oxford Art Factory

The Play Off - Thu 1 Mar @ Kingsteam
Team Photo - Thu 1 Mar @ Steps of the Sydney Opera House
Sports Day - Fri 2 Mar @ Bicentennial Park
Mega Furry Friday: Four Levels of Fur - Fri 2 Mar @ Oxford Hotel

Victory Parade - Sat 3 Mar @ Lord Roberts Hotel
Grand Final: Mardigrasland - Sat 3 Mar @ Entertainment Quarter
Bears on Sunday: Send Off - Sun 4 Mar @ Lord Roberts Hotel

Harbour City Bears is an inclusive not-for-profit community group for hairy gay men, their admirers and friends. Based in Sydney, Australia, and founded in 1995, we run events with everyone welcome regardless of sex, sexuality, age or hirsuteness, in line with the club’s ideals – about having fun and participating in the community.

Go to www.bearessentials.com.au for full details