3 Strangely Normal Things About Tallinn Bearty (and why they are not normal)

Bear culture is rapidly evolving. We all know by now that there are so many bear events all over the world it is impossible to attend all of them. If you take a look at year’s calendar there’s literally every weekend something somewhere, in many cases even several bear-runs in one weekend.

While this indicates merely amount of happenings, objectively, we often know too little about the quality of it unless being told or better yet, been experiencing it. Normal Thing #1

It’s Quality That Matters

10 years of feedback from bears visiting Tallinn Bearty have taught us one thing: never discount on quality.

Why it is not normal? Because this is what remains when you get home - you can gradually forget the names, the times, the place, but the feeling you will never forget. In Tallinn Bearty’s case, for first-timers it is the comfort and confidence of a warm, inclusive, family-feeling and friendly event, gained over discouraging uncertainty of a potential dr*nk/dr*g/f*ck-fest (something that gets unfortunately, and unfairly we think, emphasized about most of the well established dance weekenders). Similarily, for seasoned event visitors, it is the get-together excitement of real friendships with good people who they know for years and years and are kind to each other. Couple of hundred men is a good bunch that all manage to have personal contacts with each other during the 90-or-so hours of the festival.

*great food is crucial for bears - we can be at ease when we know it is prepared under supervision of a Michelin-grade chef at One Sixty Smokery, Tallinn

Normal Thing #2

Variety Is Valued

Tallinn Bearty 2024 X and all its public events prove once again that being a bear is a beautiful thing if we embrace the fact that our subculture is so much more than mere visual coding and primal nature. Hedonism in general is by far possibly the best philosophy to describe the human ursine kind.

Why it is not normal? Because we are all in need of soul- and mind-food. The kind of nourishment that we actually absorb every day around us, yet only few bear-events dare to incorporate. Exhibitions, conversations, ideas, discussions, serious topics and not so serious banters. All that together with great food and evening events, showing the world and locals that we live and love the same joys and troubles that every human being. Validation, that when the music ends, the ideas remain. We love the knowing that we can keep offering surprisingly curious and beautiful events to our guests.

*we pride ourselves being the new breed of bear event promoters, not afraid to offer our guests food for thought in the form of talks and discussions.

Normal Thing #3

Art Is Everywhere

We have shown every year that art is the best means of communication helping people read without words and talk without talking - how stereotypes, cliches and stigmas don’t hold when it comes to humanity’s basic values of empathy, love and care.

Why it is not normal? Only because with the help of our guests and visitors we have found that even if the beauty is in the eye of beholder, it can be proudly shown without limitations. It is not normal because artists who create are rarely in the focus of the bear-events (unless a DJ, respect to all the great ones). We’ve become a platform for those who haven’t even dreamed of it, and we’ve been giving respect to those who have reached their artistic heights sometimes not knowing how highly they are regarded, contributing to what Tallinn Bearty was first to start calling the #bearculture.

*visual arts in 2019 - top hits: Love In Light and Leather Bear Dolls

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Still not sure you should experience all that? Take a look at Tallinn Bearty 2024 edition X program (or see some great moments from one of the previous years) and join us for Tallinn Bearty 2024 edition X (April 18-21, 2024)