Hey there Guys,
For the past week I have been in Auckland New Zealand attending the Get It On! Bear New Zealand week. Many of my friends have attended this event in the past and the reports have always been positive. I was really looking forward to a week off hanging with my New Zealand mate.
From start to finish I have been blown away with the warm hospitality, fun and open arms of my Trans-Tasman brothers.
From the start of the week I was welcomed with open arms.
With a week of festivities the activities were wide and varied. With many gay event’s focus being on bars and alcohol it was fantastic to see variety in activities including a day trip to New Zealand’s lush rain forrest, a gay movie night, and even a day on an inactive volcano! All events were infused with a wonderful feeling of home hospitality with great people like Mo and Lief opening their home for an afternoon tea and the closing event being a fantastic BBQ hosted by two of the organisers, Grant and Brian, in their back yard.
With the bears gathered I thought it would be a great opportunity to share some of the attendee’s thoughts on their week at Get It On! Bear New Zealand. Please enjoy the following three brief interviews by attendee’s Matt, Arthur and Alan
Sydney based DJ and promoter Matt Effect shares his thoughts on Bear New Zealand 2012
“Being a bear to me is about being comfortable with who you are. These days it’s much more about inclusion… Feeling like I belong somewhere as I never felt I belonged to the stereotypical “gay” or “twink” community”
Mr Urge Bar 2011 Arthur shares his impressions on Get It On! Bear Week NZ
[On being a bear] “It’s about that sense of community, because it is a very broad and varied range of people in the bear community. Everybody has the opportunity to be social and to be respected for who they are.”
Get It On! Bear NZ 2012 team member Alan shares his thoughts on the week.
“If you’ve made it all the way to New Zealand which is a rock in the middle of the ocean, you may as well be welcomed with opened arms. You’ve made it this far so congratulations!”
Guys, I hope you have enjoyed this brief glimpse into some of the fun I have really enjoyed this week.
If you would like to learn more about Bear New Zealand be sure to check out their website: http://bearnewzealand.co.nz/
Please enjoy these pics that were taken across the week.
As a special gift to readers of The Healthy Bear the New Zealand AIDS Foundation has kindly donated some great shirts, as well as three tri-nation dance party posters that have been personally signed by Mr Urge Bar 2011 Arthur.
The first three people to comment below will have this fun package off in the post just for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Tomorrow I want to share a few of the amazing new education campaigns that have been produced and promoted by the team at the New Zealand AIDS Foundation.
Catch you tomorrow guys.
Yours in good health.
Dr George
Leave a Reply