Beef Presents: The Canadian Bear Weekend

Alberta's biggest bear event has grown! After the huge success of Bearacchus Bear Weekend in Calgary we have partnered up with the best in bear entertainment to bring you the Canadian Bear Weekend!

A full weekend's worth of events coinciding with Edmonton's Pride Festival
A supportive host hotel with discounted room blocks reserved for event members only. It will also host two of the events.
Alberta's first Bearracuda dance party featuring DJ Matt Consola! 

Friday June 7 -8 PM - BEEF Bear Pride Underbear Party
We will kick off the Pride weekend with our notorious underbear party. The meat & greet will have great music featuring DJ Phon3hom3 and a wet underwear contest. Come dressed in your favorite underwear fetish gear or jock, whatever that may be (no frontal nudity allowed)! @Lockeroom Bar, 11834 Kingsway Avenue NW, Edmonton.

Saturday June 8 - 11 AM -Edmonton Pride Parade
Join the Fellowship of Alberta Bears on our very first parade float or come cheer us on during the pride parade. Spots are limited so if you are interested please contact us.

9 PM -Bearracuda
This super charged world class bear party will blow you away. Great music and the best bear and cub eye candy around! @ The Lockeroom Bar 11834 -Kingsway avenue N.W. Edmonton

Sunday June 9: 12 PM - 4 PM BEEF Bear Bust BBQ
Spend the last day of pride unwinding with the best BBQ Edmonton has to offer. Our beef is delicious and the food is great as well! Come and join us on the spacious back patio for an entire afternoon of good drinks good food and great company. @ The Mercury Room Patio, 10575 114 Street NW Edmonton.

A portion of the profits from the weekend will be going to the Edmonton Pride Centre and the charities of the ISCWR. Booking and ticket details on the website.

I haven't gone.

I have been in survival mode for the last 6 months maybe longer.
The pressure at work has been insane.  The BEEF Bear Bash events have become 10 times more work to organize and the house renovations are coming along at a slowed pace.

Creating things is not easy.  Building anything is a battle.  It is an act of sacrifice.

These are the things I tell myself when I don't bother to return a call, when I snap at someone or in those quiet times when waver between resenting everyone and everything around me and utter despair.

Creating things is not easy.  Building anything is a battle.  It is an act of sacrifice.

These are the excuses I make because I have chosen to follow my ambitions at the expense of my friends, family and sanity.

Creating things is not easy.  Building anything is a battle.  It is an act of sacrifice.

These are the excuses I have for being a dick.

I tell myself all these things over and over.

I tell myself that next week, month, year will be better.

After the software is done.
After I finish staining the stairs.
After the kitchen is done.
After we have our house warming.
After the next BEEF event is planned.

Then I can take the time for the ones who have been waiting for me.  Hoping I will come back.

Why they bother I don't know...  

In my darker moments I resent them for needing things from me.  Don't they get it?  Don't they understand?  I feel like they all want a pound a flesh measured out by onces of guilt.  Guilt for events missed, for milestones ignored or belated wishes and apologies half felt.  Because anything that gets in the way of me finishing this frantic todo list in my mind is an impediment that needs to avoided or incinerated.

Small pleasures abandoned or barren.

Sometimes I catch glimpses of myself and what I see terrifies that little part of me that doesn't care about the infernal todo.  The rest of me says this is the way you need to be to get shit done.

If I had a dollar for every time someone I love has said "we need to spend more time together" or "I wish I saw you more" in the last year, I would be a wealthy man.

Then that little island of resistance in the storm of my brain whispers.  You are wealthy so very wealthy and so very misguided.

Thats when I know I haven't gone, at least not completely.

Maybe one day I will be back but am not sure the path or the process.

Maybe I should add it to my todo list...

BEEF Presents: BEARacchus Bear Weekend

 

BEEF Presents: BEARacchus Bear Weekend - Calgary

The next BEEF Bear Bash is going to take place in Calgary.  We are working with the fine fellows from ARGRA to bring you “BEARacchus Bear Weekend". Not only is this our first Calgary event but this is the first bear run of this size in Alberta!  We are very excited to announce that we have a full weekends worth of events and a dedicated and supportive host hotel! 

Facebook Event Link 

• Dates: April 12th to the 14th  
• April 12th - 9 PM - Meat & Great Hawaiian Party @ the host hotel with a Best Bear Buns Contest (prizes to be awarded). Tropical drinks and more!
• April 13th - 2 PM - Bear-b-que & Cocktails @ Backlot Bar
• April 13th - 9 PM - BEEF: BEARacchus Toga Party @ Arrata Center, 1315 – 7 Street SW, Calgary
  •  Get ready to go Greek and pay tribute that fuzzy, fun, Greek God Bacchus. The Arrata Centre is an old church and promises a totally unique venue for our first big Calgary event.  This will also be our first TOGA PARTY !   Underwear Auction, kinky retail booth, bear munchies and Edmonton's D.J. Phon3hom3.
• April 14th - 11 AM to 2 PM - BEAR-RUNCH @ Cheers Restaurant- Ramada host hotel.

BEARacchus Booking Details: 

Tickets:  Will be available online through the beefbearbash.com and  argra.org websites.  We will notify you when tickets become available.

Host Hotel: The Ramada Hotel Downtown Calgary (Address– 708 – 8 Ave. S.W. Calgary.) will be hosting several events.  Highlights include:

• Rooms for Bear Event attendees at $89.00 per night single/double or $99.00 triple/quad, Friday thru Tuesday night.
• All Bears on an exclusive floor.
• Reserve at 403-263-7600 and ask for “BEAR EVENT” rate or code CGS477.  Toll free @ 1-800-661-8684.  Rate only applies if you reserve through these numbers and codes.
• Friday night Meat & Greet Party location
• Sunday Brunch Event Location
• 8 blocks from the main party location – Arrata Opera Centre
• Heated underground parking.
• Right beside C-Train Station

Zombie Life

The party was a big hit.  Probably the best theme party I have ever thrown.
I am still cleaning up blood spatters...  I thank jeebus we put plastic tarps down everywhere or the floors will never be the same again.  Never-mind the mess on the ceiling of the den/splatterzone.

I think this photo says it all.

30 is coming

In four days it's going to happen. I wasn't all that worried about it after all age is jus a number.  There is a dark cloud lurking in my mind a restlessness that I can't quite put my finger on.

At 30 I have achieved almost everything I wanted to. I am a VP at my company.  I have an amazing boyfriend.  Our money situation is OK enough for us to be planning for early retirement.  The bear parties are going through some transitions now that the Junction is closed but i don't think it will negatively affect them.  We are in a house that we like and while it is a bit of a money pit right now I know we will love it once it is done.

I have always been a very driven person. I live everyday based on this grand todo list in my head. I think part of this is I have gotten to where I wanted to be but yet I'm still not pleased. I have crossed a number of big ticket items off my list and here I am in this funk.   I never really gave much thought to what phase two of adulthood was going to bring as such I am not sure what to replace those items on that big todo list with.

I had a surprising conversation with my Grandmother last week.  I am basically estranged from that side of my family. Partially by choice and partially because of decisions they made in the past. We talk about once a year usually around my birthday.  It was actually a really great chat. I updated her on how things were going and what was new and how sort of run down I was feeling by the renos work and everything else.  She said even when I was young I was always running to the next thing and that I deserve a break to enjoy myself.

Maybe that's my problem? Maybe I am always running off to tick off the next box without enjoying where I am at.  Maybe that would explains ok, this dark cloud haunting me these days.  This cloud that food booze weed love and laughter and sex can't fix.    So my goal for the next two months is to make myself, my health, and my relationships a bigger priority.  All things I have let slip these last few months in favor of work renos and bears.

Saturday I am having a night of the gay undead party to celebrate.  It will be a great opportunity to get back in touch with people and reconnect with the world a bit.

Forgetting Yourself

Sometimes things slip.  You get into habits.  Slide into routines that you never would have been ok with before.

Ever since my gym shut down last spring I have not been able to get myself into a schedule to work out.  My performance at the rodeo suffered from it.  Hell even day to day tasks are becoming difficult.

Then this happened.

I had no idea how big I had gotten.  I am really really disappointed with myself.  I have a history of heart disease and various other problems in my family than can be exasperated by being overweight.

All the beer and potatoes in Holland really did nothing for my waistline.

This morning I woke up early and worked out for the first time since March.  It felt good but my body is already protesting.  I hope this is the start of a new habit because my old ones are  not easy on my waistline.

Beef Bear Bash Summer 2012

Summer is here and it is time to party with Alberta's Bear Community!

PART 1: A BBQ at Victoria Park at 1 PM (weather permitting). See here for a map  . Daren will be serving his delicious sloppy pulled pork buns. 5 dollars will get you TWO buns and a pop or water. We will also have some condiments and other snacks. Please feel free to bring your own food some bug spray and any outdoor equipment and come party with the bears and cubs in the woods! Also there is no liquor allowed in the park. We were hoping to have a waterfight this year so please bring some waterguns to come get wet with the bears!

PART 2: A dance at Junction Bar starting at 8 PM. Cover is 5$ at the door for non FAB card holders. FAB card holders get in for free! Proceeds are going to support future bear events. The Junction is located here.

As always we welcome all Bears, Cubs, Wolfs, Otters, and Chasers. If you would like to help or participate please email or contact me. Volunteering can be a great way to meet new people. 

Checkout the beefbearbash.com website for more information!