Get ready for lots of fur in the sand!
Bearsurrection is a group of local young visionary entrepreneurs who are joining efforts and are dedicated to bringing a unique event for the local community and promoting the City of Fort Lauderdale for the bear and bear loving community.
It was a pleasure to sit down with Marco Antonio Sanchez, Manuel Barrios, and Jim Ward, owners of Bearsurrection Fort Lauderdale when they came to the Hotspots office to talk about their new venture, which will take place from Tuesday, April 11 to Sunday, April 16.
What made you guys decide to start Bearsurrection Fort Lauderdale?
We traveled a lot the last few years; we went to Provincetown’s Bear Week, Lazy Bear in California, Bear Week in Spain, Bearmex in Mexico and many others and they are all very successful events. Since we live in the capital of the bear community we decided it was time for someone to start a major bear weekend and then we said why not us.
Once you decided to do the event, how did you pick the name?
We felt like we were resurrecting the bear community, so we called it Bearsurection.
How did you go about planning the week?
We started planning the whole week to be inclusive of the entire community: restaurants, bars, clubs, art galleries, etc. We also knew we wanted it to be over five days, and we asked people from other Bear parties around the world to come and be a part of Bearsurrection. We are excited to say this will be an international event.
Are you guys single or married?
Manuel is single and has been for seven years. So if anyone is interested his type is generally a Latino guy who makes him laugh. Jim is recently single. Marco is married and has been for 12 years.
What DJ’s do you have coming from outside of Florida?
So far we have DJ Paul Cole from England who is bringing his own party entitled “Twisted” to be a part of our weekend. We also have DJ Leonardo Abbate from Los Angeles, and we are in the middle of confirming a few others.
Why should people make the trip to Bearsurrection week, and what will the locals enjoy about the week?
We think the question really is personal for each individual that comes to a bear event. For some it’s about starting over and coming into their own, not letting what goes on every day in our lives get us down or shape our future, but to enjoy the experience of being with a great group of people from all over the world. For others, it’s the experience of meeting new friends or connecting with friends we have not seen for some time. Just take a look at all the pictures from bear events and look at how much fun we have. We want make some memories of our own. We hope Bearsurrection will be this event.
Scheduled list of events:
Saturday, March 25 –
-Bears Go Latin- a pre party for the weekend.
Tuesday – April 11, 2017
-Sebastian Beach – Beach Day
-Broga Yoga: Bearbod – 5-6 p.m. – Sober Bears
-Gym Bar – Happy Hour – 5-9 p.m.
Wednesday – April 12, 2017
-Sebastian Beach – Beach Day
-Gym Bar – Happy Hour – 5-9 p.m. Official Welcome Center of Bearsurrection
-Hunter’s – Bearsurrection Fashion Show 8-10 p.m. Featuring Nasty Pig, Chris Lopez, Ball Sportswear, LeatherWorks and Underbear – clothing modeled by hot bears.
50/50 Raffle to benefit a local charity
Silent Auction
DJ Alex Ferbeyre
Thursday – April 13, 2017
-Broga Yoga: Bearbod – 5-6 p.m.- a chance for Sober Bear’s to relax and unwind.
-Gym Bay – Happy Hour – 5-9 p.m.
-Alibi – Mega Woof Party – 9 p.m.-12 a.m. ($3.00 Long Island Ice Tea) with DJ Leonardo Abbate
Friday – April 14, 2017
-Sebastian Beach – Beach Day
-Yoga Drive – Non-Alcoholic Pool Party- 1-5 p.m.
-Gym Bay – Happy Hour – 5-9 p.m.
-Scandals – Wolf Bear Party – 9 p.m.- 12 a.m.
-Ramrod – Underground Bear Party – Midnight to 3 a.m. with DJ Tim McClonne (Tentative)
Saturday – April 15, 2017
-Sebastian Beach – Beach Day
-Gym Bar – Happy Hour – 5- 9 p.m.
-Hunters – Twisted by DJ Paul Coals from London and Teddy Bear with DJ Alex Ferbeyre – 9 p.m.- 3 a.m.
Sunday – April 16, 2017
-Windamar Pool Party – 12-3 p.m.
Closing Party from 11a.m.-11 p.m.- Bearsurrection Block Party with DJ Alex Ferbeyre, Neon GoGlow Bear and Alex Ramos- with vendor booths and outside DJ’s. (Tentative)
For more information on Bearsurrection visit: Bearsurrection.com.
