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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 3, 2011)
voices > OREGON'S LGBTO NEWSMAGAZINE JUNE 3. 2011 3 L J0 Bubbles and Homos and Bears! Oh My!. For various reasons, June has become my fa vorite month o f the year since moving to the United States. While summer doesn’t start in Portland until after July 4 (if we’re lucky), the sun is out a little more. Everywhere you look there are signs o f new life and people walk with an extra bounce in their step. Above all else, two o f my favorite events take place in June— Pride and BearTown. I love Portland’s Pride. Despite any differ ences we may have, for a few days every year we manage to come together in celebration o f the one thing that unites us— the fact we’re all queer. In all my years as a raging homo sexual, I’ve never missed Portland’s Pride fes tivities— not even the year I was unceremoni ously dumped on Pride Saturday by an ex who then proceeded to profess his interest for one o f my best friends. I got up the next morning, put my gay face on and made it ¿o the parade. My first Pride was in 1997.1 had just come out and made some fast friends at The Embers. Our group was a motley crew made up o f gays, lesbians, trannies, drag queens, queers and straights. We were young and carefree— all we looked forward to was the weekend and danc ing at The Embers. My new friends took me under their fairy wings and introduced me to queer Portland. In me realize I could easily fit into this commu nity, because BearTown didn’t just bring out Bears proper and Cubs; Otters, Wolves, Polar IY BENNIE TAN Bears and even a few Goldilocks would all rade itself but stood on the sidelines, bless converge to celebrate life and community. I ing marchers with bubbles and cheering even saw a few Pandas, so I knew I was wel them on. It was our way o f spreading joy come. Once I discovered it was a party with a and giving back to the community. purpose— a local charity selected each year to Bubbles are loved by all. It doesn’t matter if benefit from the proceeds o f this weekend- you’re young, old, gay, bi or straight— people long event— I was sold. simply smile more when they are surrounded BearTown 14 was the first Oregon Bears by bubbles. Except the religious zealots—we event I helped organize, and 2011 marks my tried and they are beyond salvation, even with third year on the committee. Personally, Bear bubble power. Bubbles start conversations and Town and being involved with the Bears gives forge connections. I still recall a PFLA G me the opportunity to do something good and mom who came up to me and gave me a big give back to my queer kinfolk. It really reminds1 hug, thanking me for the bubbles. She didn’t me o f the philosophy behind Bubblequeens— realize they were our way o f thanking her for however small the gesture, it’s important to being an accepting and loving parent to a gay spread happiness and do something positive for your community. child. Even though the Bubblequeens are no more, Bubblequeens eventually drifted apart and disbanded. Around that time, I started to no every year when I march in the Pride Parade tice that Portland became a town overrun by with the Oregon Bears, I somehow incorporate bears on the second weekend o f June. Little bubbles into the mix. This way, the group’s did I know that every June, Portland becomes spirit lives on. JW BearTown. BearTown is a bear run— a cross between a Join B e n n i e T an in this, his favorite month. convention and a circuit party—put on by the Where fun and fu r go, the Panda will follow. Oregon Bears. It was my first real introduction Em ail him at pdxpandacub@gmail.com. Turn to to this fun and furry bunch. The event made p. 9 in the insertfor more on BearTown 16. panda say what?! June, they persuaded me to attend my very first Portland Pride Parade. As a lark, I decided to bring a few bottles o f bubbles with me. There’s something very gay about bubbles— if you look closely, you can see all the colors o f the rain bow in each one. For the duration o f the pa rade, we blew bubbles all over the marchers— it # was a veritable bubble bukkake! This was how the Bubblequeens— the name we gave our ragtag group— came into being, and for a number o f years we continued to shower parade marchers with bubbles. The next year, we decided to save our mouths for blow ing other things and bought a few bubble ma chines, and Bubblequeens really took off. One o f my fondest memories o f Pride is former Mayor Vera Katz surrounded by bubbles— a gigantic smile on her face— giving us big hugs. The whole time she exclaimed, with much de light, “Bubbles! Oh my, bubbles!” Yep, bubbles make people gay (as in happy). Bubblequeens grew in size and popularity. We were on television one year and, in 2000, I had special T-shirts made. 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