Midwest Bearfest 2007: Conclusion
I'm backtracking a bit. Forgive me, but the holidays were actually busier than I thought they would be. It's rather lengthy, so it's cut into parts.
So, without further ado...
Jim and I got up early Saturday morning so we could have breakfast and I could see him off. Jim definitely needed to head back to Cincinnati as he had to work. It had snowed overnight, but didn't look too bad. I wished him safe travels, kissed him goodbye and then went back to bed.
I re-awoke around 11am, showered and got ready for the events of the day. The first event of the day was strip poker. Last year, it was on Friday night after the contest. I am not sure why they moved it to early afternoon, but no big deal. There were three tables. At my table were two daddy bears from Chicago; Rick, a sexy cub from CA; and Andy derfoman. Our game went a little quicker than other tables (the other tables had 6 or 7 people playing) and I ended up being second to last being nude. It's always fun to play and look at all the other guys getting naked.
After poker, I grabbed a quick bite and made my way to Bear Bingo. I sat with Cincinnati locals Bryan & Paul (dreambears on Bear411) and also with friends Rob & Terry (also from Cincy). The bingo itself was rather uneventful, except for the caller. His name is Joe and he's a newbie in the gay/bear scene. However, he had no qualms with taking off his clothes (he kept his naughty/nice boxers on...kinda) and seemed rather friendly. I did win a BearGear jockstrap for calling out "O-69!" the loudest...heheheeh
Dinner was soon served and it was delicious! Grilled pork chops and fried chicken, green beans, baked potatoes, Brown Co. biscuits (I think that's what they were called) with apple butter, and salad. Joe sat with me, Clay, Rob and Terry. I changed back into my kilt and had some rather *interesting* photos taken.
Once dinner was over, I made my way to the vendor mall and grabbed a couple of shirts (they were on sale) before making my way to William's shelbycub comedy DVD premiere. It was as funny when I saw it live in Columbus as it was watching it again. Of course, I bought the DVD and have seen a couple of other times since.
Now, we move on...to the MOST HUGGABLE BEAR CONTEST!!
First, a retraction. Jeremiah was not one of the final four contestants originally. A guy named Blake from Ft. Wayne was one of the final four. However, he (and about 100 or so others) left the run because of the weather. I actually got a call from one of the organizers of the run asking if I was still in Indy. When we all met for the contest, I am assuming Jeremiah was called in to be a fourth contestant to make things flow easily and give the audience more bear candy to look at ;-)
Scott and Jeremiah were up first and second and seemed to impress the judges and audience. I was glad I was going third, because it gave me time to relax some and think. A part of me wanted to have fun with this, but since I wouldn't know the questions William was going to throw at me, I didn't know what to expect.
I was called on stage and answered a couple of questions well. My actor/performer mode was in full effect. In the back of mind though, I wanted to do something. Something that would set me apart and get me over the edge. That's when I felt the buzz of my cell phone vibrating in my pocket and William was asking me if I had anything else to say...
"My phone is ringing..." I said, with a smile.
I knew who it was. When Jim went down to Cincinnati, he said he would call me later in the evening to let me know whether he was going to make the trip back up to Indy or stay in Cincy. This was perfect! I didn't want to, but I felt the need, so I answered the phone, letting the audience know that it was my partner...
Here I am on the phone
I let Jim know that I was on stage right there during the contest. I kept the conversation on topic and he let me know he wasn't coming back (Awwwww...). Then, Jim wanted to talk to William.
William talking to Jim. He let William know that he would make it up to me! ;-)
I said goodbye to Jim and was promptly taken off the stage to hug the judges (part of the contest obviously). A little embarassed and a bit worried that my little "show" wouldn't go well, I listened to the final contestant, Jack, and waited. Once he was finished, we were all called back on stage and mooned the audience...hehehe. Then it was time for the scores to be tallied and lots of pics were taken:
The final four on stage..
The final four posing for pictures
Scores were tallied and we were brought back on stage. The first runner-up was Jack!
Jack with his medal standing with Vanna aka Neal
So that left just me, Jeremiah and Scott for the win. And, of course, I won! YAY!!
Here I am after winning
More hugs than I can imagine were given and lots of congrats were done. One more photo:
The final four after the contest with the judges
I was a little surprised, honestly. Like I said, I wasn't sure how my show would play with the judges. Apparently, it paid off! I spent the rest of the evening at the Boxers dance dancing and hugging as many people as possible. I was on cloud nine! I had a great time and this made it all worth it.
The rest of the evening was kind of uneventful. After Hours were done and I had a little fun there *wink*, but I didn't need that now. I was still riding the wave of winning the contest and meeting all these wonderful guys out there.
Sunday, I woke up, showered, dressed, packed my bag and Jim's and called for a later checkout. I knew Rob and Terry were taking me home, but I knew that I would be able to enjoy the brunch and gift exchange on Sunday if I had a carry all my crap with me. The hotel extended the checkout to noon, which helped, but not by much.
I made my way to brunch, grabbed some food and took a seat with Chris (a delightful black guy I met last year from Pittsburgh) and his friend Mel and others. Eventually, Rob and Terry came down and sat with us as well. Conversation was light and then the gift exchange was done. I got an interesting assortment of lubes, condoms and silicon cockrings. I didn't see who got my gift, but it was a coffee assortment that I thought were nice.
More hugs and kisses and gropes were exchanged as everyone was starting to depart. The one thing that is really great about this run is you get the opportunity to just talk with other guys. You're not in a smoky, loud bar and it's not too much of a meat market. It's very laid back and gives us all the opportunity to relax and enjoy each others' company.
The drive home was uneventful. Saturday night all the rain and snow had melted and frozen over, so getting out of the parking lot was an adventure. Terry and Rob's car was rather full and they were also driving another friend of theirs (whose name escapes me now) who they were taking to the airport in Cincy. We stopped just inside the OH state border to visit Rob's mom and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant there. Good food and a good time.
I got home, called Jim and unpacked. My body finally succumbed to the lack of sleep from the weekend and I crashed early. I was very pleased with this year's Midwest Bearfest. As others have said, if there was only one bear run I could go to, I seriously think this would be the one I would choose. I think the only thing that could have made this run better was having Jim there with me for the rest of it. I met some great people, saw some old friends and just had a blast! Thanks to everyone involved for this run...
BTW...I named the teddy bear I won "Huggybear" for obvious reasons. Thanks to David for the name suggestion.
So, without further ado...
Jim and I got up early Saturday morning so we could have breakfast and I could see him off. Jim definitely needed to head back to Cincinnati as he had to work. It had snowed overnight, but didn't look too bad. I wished him safe travels, kissed him goodbye and then went back to bed.
I re-awoke around 11am, showered and got ready for the events of the day. The first event of the day was strip poker. Last year, it was on Friday night after the contest. I am not sure why they moved it to early afternoon, but no big deal. There were three tables. At my table were two daddy bears from Chicago; Rick, a sexy cub from CA; and Andy derfoman. Our game went a little quicker than other tables (the other tables had 6 or 7 people playing) and I ended up being second to last being nude. It's always fun to play and look at all the other guys getting naked.
After poker, I grabbed a quick bite and made my way to Bear Bingo. I sat with Cincinnati locals Bryan & Paul (dreambears on Bear411) and also with friends Rob & Terry (also from Cincy). The bingo itself was rather uneventful, except for the caller. His name is Joe and he's a newbie in the gay/bear scene. However, he had no qualms with taking off his clothes (he kept his naughty/nice boxers on...kinda) and seemed rather friendly. I did win a BearGear jockstrap for calling out "O-69!" the loudest...heheheeh
Dinner was soon served and it was delicious! Grilled pork chops and fried chicken, green beans, baked potatoes, Brown Co. biscuits (I think that's what they were called) with apple butter, and salad. Joe sat with me, Clay, Rob and Terry. I changed back into my kilt and had some rather *interesting* photos taken.
Once dinner was over, I made my way to the vendor mall and grabbed a couple of shirts (they were on sale) before making my way to William's shelbycub comedy DVD premiere. It was as funny when I saw it live in Columbus as it was watching it again. Of course, I bought the DVD and have seen a couple of other times since.
Now, we move on...to the MOST HUGGABLE BEAR CONTEST!!
First, a retraction. Jeremiah was not one of the final four contestants originally. A guy named Blake from Ft. Wayne was one of the final four. However, he (and about 100 or so others) left the run because of the weather. I actually got a call from one of the organizers of the run asking if I was still in Indy. When we all met for the contest, I am assuming Jeremiah was called in to be a fourth contestant to make things flow easily and give the audience more bear candy to look at ;-)
Scott and Jeremiah were up first and second and seemed to impress the judges and audience. I was glad I was going third, because it gave me time to relax some and think. A part of me wanted to have fun with this, but since I wouldn't know the questions William was going to throw at me, I didn't know what to expect.
I was called on stage and answered a couple of questions well. My actor/performer mode was in full effect. In the back of mind though, I wanted to do something. Something that would set me apart and get me over the edge. That's when I felt the buzz of my cell phone vibrating in my pocket and William was asking me if I had anything else to say...
"My phone is ringing..." I said, with a smile.
I knew who it was. When Jim went down to Cincinnati, he said he would call me later in the evening to let me know whether he was going to make the trip back up to Indy or stay in Cincy. This was perfect! I didn't want to, but I felt the need, so I answered the phone, letting the audience know that it was my partner...
Here I am on the phone
I let Jim know that I was on stage right there during the contest. I kept the conversation on topic and he let me know he wasn't coming back (Awwwww...). Then, Jim wanted to talk to William.
William talking to Jim. He let William know that he would make it up to me! ;-)
I said goodbye to Jim and was promptly taken off the stage to hug the judges (part of the contest obviously). A little embarassed and a bit worried that my little "show" wouldn't go well, I listened to the final contestant, Jack, and waited. Once he was finished, we were all called back on stage and mooned the audience...hehehe. Then it was time for the scores to be tallied and lots of pics were taken:
The final four on stage..
The final four posing for pictures
Scores were tallied and we were brought back on stage. The first runner-up was Jack!
Jack with his medal standing with Vanna aka Neal
So that left just me, Jeremiah and Scott for the win. And, of course, I won! YAY!!
Here I am after winning
More hugs than I can imagine were given and lots of congrats were done. One more photo:
The final four after the contest with the judges
I was a little surprised, honestly. Like I said, I wasn't sure how my show would play with the judges. Apparently, it paid off! I spent the rest of the evening at the Boxers dance dancing and hugging as many people as possible. I was on cloud nine! I had a great time and this made it all worth it.
The rest of the evening was kind of uneventful. After Hours were done and I had a little fun there *wink*, but I didn't need that now. I was still riding the wave of winning the contest and meeting all these wonderful guys out there.
Sunday, I woke up, showered, dressed, packed my bag and Jim's and called for a later checkout. I knew Rob and Terry were taking me home, but I knew that I would be able to enjoy the brunch and gift exchange on Sunday if I had a carry all my crap with me. The hotel extended the checkout to noon, which helped, but not by much.
I made my way to brunch, grabbed some food and took a seat with Chris (a delightful black guy I met last year from Pittsburgh) and his friend Mel and others. Eventually, Rob and Terry came down and sat with us as well. Conversation was light and then the gift exchange was done. I got an interesting assortment of lubes, condoms and silicon cockrings. I didn't see who got my gift, but it was a coffee assortment that I thought were nice.
More hugs and kisses and gropes were exchanged as everyone was starting to depart. The one thing that is really great about this run is you get the opportunity to just talk with other guys. You're not in a smoky, loud bar and it's not too much of a meat market. It's very laid back and gives us all the opportunity to relax and enjoy each others' company.
The drive home was uneventful. Saturday night all the rain and snow had melted and frozen over, so getting out of the parking lot was an adventure. Terry and Rob's car was rather full and they were also driving another friend of theirs (whose name escapes me now) who they were taking to the airport in Cincy. We stopped just inside the OH state border to visit Rob's mom and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant there. Good food and a good time.
I got home, called Jim and unpacked. My body finally succumbed to the lack of sleep from the weekend and I crashed early. I was very pleased with this year's Midwest Bearfest. As others have said, if there was only one bear run I could go to, I seriously think this would be the one I would choose. I think the only thing that could have made this run better was having Jim there with me for the rest of it. I met some great people, saw some old friends and just had a blast! Thanks to everyone involved for this run...
BTW...I named the teddy bear I won "Huggybear" for obvious reasons. Thanks to David for the name suggestion.