BURLY BEAR BEER BASH

BY: COLIN MIXSON

January 28, 2010

BURLINGTON - On January 15th, Burlington Bears and Cubs gather at Red Square for the 2010 Burly Bear Beer Blast. The blast kicked off with techno dance music, courtesy of DJ Papi Javi; along with dancing, beer specials and pizza. A raffle was held, with the grand prize of a two night stay at the Ranch Bed & Breakfast. Before long, the Sexy Bear Belly contest began and shirtless men danced, or just stood around to the cheers of their adoring fans. After a quick series of bare belly introductions, six contestants lined up to be judged by the audience. It wasn't long before crowd favorites emerged and the winner received the grand prize of $60.00 worth of Nasty Pig apparel. Those receiving prices were encouraged to model their winnings after the show.

"I'm having a great time!" said attendee and Burly Bear member, Kyle Buchard, in between chugging his Budweiser. "It's nice to have something to do in the winter time."

"It's always nice to see people of the same likes out in society," said Tattooed Burly Bear J.D., as he stood around in nothing but his underwear. He apparently didn't mind the cold.

The event was part of the first Winter Pride Festival, which is a series of charity events that seek to benefit the gay community by providing entertainment and promoting visibility by hosting events for gays in public venues. The festival began on January 13th with Proud Women Play Music, which was followed by the Guerrilla Queer Bar, the Winter-Pride Family Putt at the Pizza Putt, a movie night at the RU12 Community Center, the January Thaw Beach Party at Higher Ground, and a Fun-house at the One-half Lounge, all in addition to the fourth Burly Bear Beer Blast.

"We have something for women, for families, for gay guys," says host and Burly Bear member Chris Pecaro. "We serve the whole community."

While the Beer Blast was a private event, Red Square patrons could be seen looking in to catch a glimpse of Burly Bears dancing with, or without, their Hawaiian t-shirts (or without their pants for that matter).

"Is it OK if we kiss a little?" one Burly Bear could be overheard asking his partner.

"There are some places in Burlington that are really uptight," says Pecaro, "There's a place called Lift where you can't really dress the way you want to, or go shirtless. They don't encourage you express yourself as a gay man."

Some businesses, however, are definitely showing their support. The event has numerous sponsors, including Papa John's, who provides food for numerous events. Clothing and Jewelry stores, Nasty Pig and Fat Bargains donated prizes for the raffle and belly contest. Red Square, Higher Grounds and Metronome helped by allowing Pride Vermont keep a portion of the door proceeds.

"Chris came to us with Pride Vermont a few years ago looking for a more congenial venue," says general manager at Red Square Alex Flamini. "They said they were having problems with other clubs downtown concerning going shirtless and showing affection, things we don't have a problem with."

The feeling seems mutual, with this Beer Blast being the third held at Red Square since the Summer Pride festival two years ago.

"When you choose a venue you have to keep a lot of things in minds," says Chris, "so I'll just say that Red Square had a lot of the things we were looking for. It's downtown, easily accessible. They were very, very willing to host the event. They're ok with the gay community. They're ok with us expressing ourselves as gay men, about kissing, hugging, taking our shirts off. Most venues in Burlington won't let us do that."

According to Pecaro, proceeds from the event are being put forward in order to acquire the services of an as of yet undeclared headline performer. So you can expect to see more of the Burly Bears downtown as the year goes on, along with Pride Vermont sponsored events culminating in the fourth annual Summer Pride Festival in July.