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ONE of Australia鈥檚 biggest gay bear festivals returns to Sydney in February, with organisers looking to shine the spotlight on the diversity of the community.

Coming into its 19th year, Bear Essentials has come a long way to become one of the world鈥檚 most renowned bear festivals, and Harbour City Bears president Evan Cannan believes this is largely due to the diversity of Australia鈥檚 bear community.

鈥淚n other parts of the world the bear community has been splintering off and doing their own things but here in Australia with our relatively smaller population, our community very much exists together,鈥� Cannan said.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got our muscle bears, chubby bears, Asian and south-east Asian bears, European and Middle Eastern bears, everybody鈥檚 all together and we鈥檙e using Bear Essentials this year to encompass and represent everyone.

鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 be the community we are without them.鈥�

To celebrate this diversity, the theme for the next Bear Essentials is 鈥淔ifty Shades of Bears鈥� 鈥� and yes, the reference to popular novel (and upcoming film) Fifty Shades of Grey is deliberate.

Alas, unlike the book, there won鈥檛 be a focus on sex.

鈥淲e鈥檝e done this obviously as a bit of a play on words with the book Fifty Shades of Grey as a way to encompass the entire bear community and show the wide range of diversity that exists,鈥� Cannan assured.

For the first time over in Bear Essentials鈥� history, there will be an Indigenous smoking ceremony as a part of the official welcome during the opening party.

Cannan said this would be a symbolic recognition and a show of respect for the growing number of Indigenous members of Harbour City Bears, including a few on its committee.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 be all inclusive 鈥� as per our charter 鈥� if we鈥檙e not including the original land holders of the country,鈥� he said.

鈥淲e鈥檝e put an Indigenous theme into a couple of the Bear Essentials events to show a greater amount of support and inclusiveness.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really something we should have been doing for a while but I鈥檓 very proud that we鈥檝e started.鈥�

There will also be a four-hour guided harbour tour that will focus on Indigenous history and culture.

鈥淔or the first time we鈥檒l also be doing a Tribal Warrior Indigenous tour of Sydney Harbour which will include lunch on Clark Island and local Indigenous dancing.鈥�

Regular Bear Essential events will also return for 2015, as well as a few old favourites.

鈥淲e鈥檙e bringing back a trivia night which is something we haven鈥檛 done for about five or six years,鈥� Cannan said.

鈥淎 few regular events will be back in 2015, like our Yum-Cha lunch and our black party at Kinselas on Oxford St.

鈥淲e鈥檙e bringing back a beach outing that we haven鈥檛 done for a few years where we鈥檒l go down and take over the sands at Bondi with a great big bear flag.

鈥淲e鈥檒l [also] be having a great dinner at the Paddington Bowls Club along with some barefoot bowling which is something we haven鈥檛 done before.鈥�

And what about the the mainstays of a pool party and a chance to dance in nothing but underwear?

鈥淥f course our much-loved Wet Fur and Underbear parties will be back, with some local and international DJs,鈥� Cannan said.

鈥淭here will be a lot of fun to be had.鈥�

Set to start in the lead up to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival, Bear Essentials 2015 gives national and international visitors an excuse to head to Sydney to begin celebrations a little bit early.

鈥淗eading into its 19th year in 2015, Bear Essentials is hoping it can show the great amount of diversity the community has to offer, not just for the bears but for Sydney as a whole,鈥� Cannan said.

鈥淲ith Bear Essentials we鈥檙e not just trying to promote Harbour City Bears, we鈥檙e also promoting Sydney as a national and international destination.

鈥淲e have a thriving bear community and we are a very friendly group of people.

鈥淲e won鈥檛 bite unless you ask us to.鈥�

Bear Essentials 2015 will run from February 25 to March 8. For details , visit

(Main image credit: Ann-Marie Calilhanna; Star Observer)

**This article was first published in the January聽edition of the Star Observer, which is . To obtain a hard copy, to find out where you can grab one聽in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and select regional/coastal areas.