Photo: Dick Mitchell, Model: Gio
Before winter hibernation, New York City bears are having a ball, and you’re invited to flaunt your PETA-approved fur for a good cause. For the first time, the city’s LGBT Community Center (commonly called “the Center”) is expanding their popular gay bear dance party, Fur Ball, into octoBEARfest: “a week-long celebration of everything furry.”
The Fuzzy Wuzzy festivities kick off with sustenance. On Monday, October 1, the boys will celebrate Bear-BQ at Bone Lick Park restaurant with $3 shots and drafts, $3.50 margaritas, and 35¢ wings. Tuesday brings the Bears & Beers fundraising dinner, with unlimited food and drinks and optional VIP bourbon tasting, at 508 Gastrobrewery.
To help you find the perfect napping partner after all that food, the Center will host Bear Bating on Thursday, October 4, a speed-dating event for bears and their admirers; and then the big daddy event of the week, Fur Ball on Saturday, October 6.
Headlined by DJ Corey Craig, Fur Ball’s estimated 900 guests will take over every floor of the Center, with two dance floors, go-go-bears, and an outdoor garden. And more importantly, all proceeds benefit the Center, whose programs range from hosting arts and entertainment events, advocacy groups and family gatherings, to offering youth, recovery and wellness programs.
So let your hair down, wear your God-given fur out, and celebrate for a Grrrrrrreat cause.
Visit the Center’s octoBEARfest website for tickets and additional information.
