No Hibernation for the Bears
What do you have when a couple hundred gay guys, many of them with beards and bellies, stop by for the weekend? If you are the City of Rehoboth Beach, and if it is the middle of September, then what you have is the Rehoboth Beach Bear Weekend! What you also have is a Good Time that does Good for the community.
This year’s event was the second annual Bear Weekend in Rehoboth Beach. “Many of us have attended Bear events all over the world and the idea was ‘Why don’t we have an event here?’ explains Rehoboth Beach Bears (RBB) Board member Terry Kistler. “So after a lot of planning, conversations, begging and going out on a few limbs we brought a Bear Weekend to Rehoboth in 2015. It was a great success, thanks to our Board of Directors, Sponsors, Volunteers, our community and the bear community. This year the event grew even more and the reviews have told us that this year’s event was even better.”
The Schedule of Events for this year’s Bear Weekend was an ambitious one. Over the course of three and a half days, the bears got the chance to socialize at two dance parties, as well as get-togethers at RBB Bar Sponsors such as the Pond, Aqua, the Double L and the Purple Parrot. However, the Bear Weekend is not just one long party, by any stretch of the imagination. Also on the agenda was an art exhibit and reception, held in the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center. Early risers on Saturday morning could go to presentations on financial planning or on the use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. Saturday evening the bears hosted a concert by singer/songwriter Tom Goss.
The single event that earned the most raves from RBB Weekend participants happened at mid-day on Saturday. The RBB shuttled 150 bears to North Shores for fun in the sun and lunch on the beach. The logistics of doing something like that was daunting but worth every bit of the work. RBB President John Lucas put it this way: “Walking over the dune and seeing all the bears on the beach and tons of bears in the water gave me goosebumps. It was like seeing a big, furry family reunion. Everyone seemed like they knew everyone and it really felt like a family atmosphere. The food was great as well, and everything ran smoothly.”
The Rehoboth Beach Bear Weekend does a lot of good in promoting a sense of community, which is the group’s primary mission. “The bear weekend brings people together from all over. We had people this year from as far away as Connecticut, Illinois, and Nevada! The best thing about Bear Weekend is that the bear community can celebrate, have fun, and make new friends. There were a lot of new faces here this year that quickly became friends by the end of the weekend,” said Bryan Hecksher, RBB Board member. “The Bear Weekend is inclusive of everyone. We had some great volunteers, both men and women!”
The Good done by the Bears extends far outside of the Bear Community. Proceeds from the Bear Weekends are donated to various charities in the local community. “We’re so grateful for the community’s response to, and participation in, this type of event which goes to support so many,” explains RBB Board member Chris Berg. “The success of this year’s weekend again serves to propel our mission to enhance our local community. What a special feeling to be able to help cultivate and build upon the initiatives of local organizations including AIDS Delaware, CAMP Rehoboth, and others.” At the CAMP Rehoboth Block Party held on October 16, the Rehoboth Beach Bears presented not one, but two checks! A check for $1,000 was presented to CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Steve Elkins in appreciation of CAMP’s support of the Bear Community…and all communities. A second check was unveiled by RBB Board member Ken Mahan, which represented the Bears’ commitment of $2,000 to establish a scholarship program for students active in the Gay Straight Alliance at a local high school.
The Bear Weekend would not have been possible without the goodness and support of its sponsors, including the Aqua Grill, cybersocket.com, the Purple Parrot, Double L Bar, The Pond Bar and Grill, Signarama, CAMP Rehoboth, the Homestead B and B, Doggies at the Beach, Double Dippers, The Spice and Tea Exchange, Go Fish!, Eden and Jam Restaurants, Mariachi Restaurant, Hobos Restaurant, Snyder’s Candy, Dos Locos, and the Rehoboth Ale House.
Of course, if you want to know whether or not an event was really good, all you have to do is look at the comments from participants in an anonymous survey. What did this year’s bears think? They praised the friendliness of the local bears and the City of Rehoboth Beach. One bear wrote, “I thought the entire event was well done. It was the right mix of events— loved the beach time. Plus the host bears and volunteers were amazingly nice. I will come back just because of you guys.” Another guest put it more succinctly: “I heart you!”
To learn more about the Rehoboth Beach Bears, visit their website at RehobothBeachBears.com or join them at FURst Friday, a Bear Happy Hour held at the Pond on FURst Street on the FURst Friday of the month. The next one is scheduled for Friday, November 4, 2016.