Hi folks – Welcome to my very first blog ever! Yes, I am a blogging virgin – so please be gentle with me…..
Let me take this first opportunity to introduce myself – I am BigHoustonBear (a fairly accurate description of me, actually). From my little speck on the web I hope to keep you up to date with what’s going on in the Bear community in and around Houston. I’ve been active in the Houston Area Bears since 2004, when I made the transition from Boston to Houston. My 15 years in the Boston area were a tremendous time of growth and self acceptance, but eventually it became clear that it was time to be closer to family – but not ‘too’ close. I am by birth a native southerner, born/raised in the sticks of Mississippi. No, I did not engage in entercourse or marriage with a sibling or cousin, or with farm animals. I do have some rather interesting stories about being gay in Mississippi, but that’s for another time and place.

Back to the task at hand – BEARS! Our little group in The Houston Area Bears (HAB) is comprised of a diverse membership, all of whom embrace the bear culture and all that entails. Many of our members also belong to various other organizations as well, all of which take a very active role in raising funds for our community and awareness of the issues we face. HAB is no exception. For the past two years HAB has been proud to support H.A.T.C.H. (www.hatchyouth.org) an organization under the umbrella of the Montrose Counseling Center, dedicated to helping our GLBT teens and youth become responsible, aware, and proactive adults by providing them with peer-led counseling, education, resource referrals, all in a safe, affirming environment.

What’s New With Houston Area Bears

HAB just finished participation in LUEY Weekend. NOW – for you LUEY virgins, read carefully……Organizations like HAB belong to a collective of clubs and organizations known as the Houston Council of Clubs (HCC). Each year, participating clubs put together a weekend long event the weekend after Mardis Gras. The name LUEY is an acronym for Let Us Entertain You. The initial intent of LUEY was to keep the Mardis Gras party-spirit alive for those returning to Houston from New Orleans. This year marks the milestone 35th anniversary of LUEY, quite a remarkable accomplishment, particularly in our community! In a nutshell, for you virgins, LUEY is a weekend-long bar-crawl through Houston, with the HCC member clubs hosting cocktail “receptions” in various bars around town. Now, when I say “cocktail reception”, I use the term loosely….this is not your stereotypical pretentious, dress-up, hob-nob type of affair – oh, far from it……Insatead of waiters/waitresses in black-and-white serving flutes of champagne and cosmpos, try to picture scantily clad, burly, muscular men in leather and ripped 501’s spooning out a glorified trashcan punch in Dixie cups. Not to disparage the cocktail receptions at LUEY – as a matter of fact, there is an unspoken competiton among the participating groups as to who can make the best cocktail. This year, HAB had a very tasty libation we called “Chocolate Rain”, which met with rave reviews.

Saturday afternoon there is a lunch served at one of the local establishements, usually The Ripcord, Houston’s leather bar. You may have heard stories about the “activities” on the back patio….I myself would never engage in such activities (and write about them on a blog!!) On Saturday Night there is a dinner served at our incredible country-western bar The Brazos River Bottom (HELLO – we are in Texas-it’s a requisite!) followed by a long-standing tradition known as the TIFFLE Hat Parade. The Tiffle Ladies are the spouses/partners/boyfriends/designees of senior board members of each club, who have the distinct honor of modelling an outrageous hat constructed by members of their respective club. Again, we go back to the competition – when you have any group of creative queens vying for some sort of title or sash, well, the competition can get fierce…

All this brings us to Sunday and the LUEY Show of Shows, where each member group of HCC stages a short variety skit. There is no particular theme in mind; however, I am most proud to say that HAB has come to be known for having the most twisted and the most original skits. This year was no exception – for those who stayed until the very end, you know what I’m talking about…..that last little surprise will soon be uploaded to our website for all to enjoy.

Miss Hathaway (my cat) informs me that i’ve been ignoring her entirely too long, so I must give her the attention she thinks she deserves. Next week look for an update on BEARWATCH 9 – BOOTY CAMP (www.bearwatch.net). Trust me, it’ll be worth it!