What has five blocks, 12 DJs, three bands, a kebab trolley, a wrestling ring, a dildo toss, a deadlift competition, and is covered with fur? It’s Bearrison Street Fair (Sat/15, noon-6pm, on Harrison between 10th and 13th Streets, SF.)—and that’s not even mentioning the booze booths, the local vendors, the rest of the food court, and the “Boys of Bearlesque” erotic dancers. I love the bears!
Bearrison (not to be confused with the similarly ursine-oriented “Hairrison” fair that existed briefly in the 2000s) is the brainchild of Erik Greenfrost, the chair of Bears of San Francisco, and Sister Desi Juana Dewitt of those charitable covenly scamps the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
“We’re very close friends,” Greenfrost told me, “and we were talking about how both of our organizations had lost big events. [Foundational bear culture gathering] International Bear Rendezvous ended more than a decade ago, and Pink Saturday, the Pride event which raised tons of money for local groups through the Sisters, is gone now, too.
“We thought, let’s just Captain Planet it—combine both of our powers and see if we can come up with something big and fun,” Greenfrost said. An initial community meeting on the back patio of the Eagle proved there was interest, and a two-year planning process was launched, which coincided with COVID shutdowns. The first installment came when it was deemed safer to gather outdoors last year—but took place on that freak “cyclone bomb” weekend of 2021. Still, the weather eased up enough for several hundred people to attend the fair and show off their fine fur.
“Bearrison was already breaking all the street fair rules by taking place on a Saturday—and thank goodness we did, because the rain stopped that one day, and everyone had a blast,” Greenfrost said. You can’t keep a wet bear down.
This year, Bearrison is going even bigger, with a new deadlift competition for muscle bears; a “butts” contest where the audience “judges” (no real judgement here) using a Wheel of Adjectives like “pouty” and “playful”; a twerking competition on the main stage; and that good ol’ dildo toss for prizes—”It’s some real corn hole-type action,” Greenfrost promises. I’m personally excited about the entertainment, which features Polyglamorous and Lone Star Saloon DJs, Olga T, Charles Hawthorne, Miguelitooo, and bands Muñecas and Probe 7.
So, OK, yes, the second annual installment of this hairy carnival along Harrison nominally caters to LGBTQ+ bears and their admirers. But at this point in queer zoological history, what even is a bear?
The category has moved all over the map since its popularization in the 1980s as a refuge for hirsute, voluptuous men whose expressions of masculinity fell outside the stifling spandex gym-bunny/beach-blonde twink binary of the time—especially since a post-AIDS generation has now lived long enough to grow into their own spare tires. (“You’re not a bear, you’re just middle-aged!” I often find myself screaming internally when I see photos of contemporary bear cruises.)
The current definition of bear is, ahem, fuzzy.
“From the beginning, it was mainly about community, diversity, and promoting body positivity for everyone. It was about making space for people who didn’t feel included in the Castro clone culture,” Greenfrost said. “Unfortunately, over time, I think some of the bear community became a bit exclusive, especially as it became more mainstream. As a genderqueer person myself, I’ve known that ironic feeling of ‘I’m not big enough,’ or ‘I’m not hairy enough.’
“Our philosophy is that the point of ‘bear’ is feeling comfortable in your own skin, loving yourself, reveling in your body. That’s something that includes everyone.”
Pour me a tall, big one outdoors and count me in. It’s nice to stretch queer summer festival season this far into fall, before it’s hibernation time.
BEARRISON STREET FAIR Sat/15, noon-6pm, on Harrison between 10th and 13th Streets, SF. More info here. Entrance to the fair is donation-based; there are tasty VIP passes available that help fund the effort and get you some goodies. And they need volunteers!
