HCB celebrating 30th Anniversary for its Bear Essentials at the 2026 Sydney Mardi Gras
Introduction:
The Harbour City Bears (HCB) are celebrating their 30th anniversary of bringing positive vibes to the bear community since 1996. This year, for the 2026 Sydney Mardi Gras, they will offer a variety of fun activities for bears, cubs, admirers, and allies for Bear Essentials 30 (BE30), so you’d better book in asap to join in the fun.
This year’s theme with the HCB for BE30 is Cruising. This is a great theme to reflect the HCB events and activities in the Darlinghurst area (featuring the best queer seamen-looking blokes on this side of Australia).
Events are below, but if you want to get your hands on some BE30 Party Pack and merchandise, click here.
Bear Essentials 30 Events:
From the Bear Essentials Website or the HCB BE Events Page (as an alternative – both have the same events listings), here are the summary of the BE30 ‘Cruising’ events being offered this year by the HCB:
- Sunday 15th February 2026:
- Fair Day: at Victoria Park, Camperdown, from 10 am to 4 pm. Free event.
- Fair Day Afterparty: at The Town Hall Hotel, from 3 pm to 11:30 pm. Free event.
- Monday 16th February 2026:
- Movie Night (Fatherhood) at Dendy Newtown, from 7 pm to 8:20 pm. Ticketed Event.
- Tuesday 17th February 2026:
- No events organised.
- Wednesday 18th February 2026:
- Bearaoke at Kings Cross Hotel from 7 pm until late. Free event.
- Thursday 19th February 2026:
- Sauna: at Sauna X, from 7 pm to late. Ticketed Event. Sold Out. Waitlist available.
- Friday 20th February 2026:
- Furry Friday: at Kings Cross Hotel, from 7 pm to late. Free event.
- Saturday 21st February 2026:
- Beach Day at Obelisk Beach: from 11 am to 5 pm. Free event.
- Harbour Cruise to Obelisk Beach (King Street Wharf): from 10:30 am to 5:00 pm. Ticketed Event.
- Sunday 22nd February 2026:
- Lunch & Pub Crawl: meet at King’s Cross Station at 10 am. Free, but needs registration.
- Hump Day: at Town Hall Hotel, from 4 pm to 8 pm. Free event.
- Monday 23rd February 2026:
- Cruise in Time: meet at Elizabeth Bay House at 10:15 am. Sold Out, Waitlist available.
- Movie Night: at Event Cinemas George Street, from 6 pm to 7:30 pm. It is a Ticketed Event.
- Tuesday 24th February 2026:
- Trivia Night: at Kings Cross Hotel, from 7 pm to late. Free event, but needs registration.
- Wednesday 25th February 2026:
- Underbear Party: at Aura Nightclub, from 8 pm to 3 am. Ticketed Event.
- Thursday 26th February 2026:
- Pool Party: at Cook + Phillip Park Pool, from 6 pm to 9 pm. Ticketed Event.
- Friday 27th February 2026:
- Furry Friday: at Kings Cross Hotel, from 7 pm to late. Free event.
- Saturday 28th February 2026:
- Mardi Gras Parade March: at Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, from 5 pm to 10 pm. Apply for EOI.
- Mardi Gras Parade Viewing Party: at Kings Cross Hotel, from 5 pm to 10 pm. Free event.
- Sunday 1st March 2026:
- Farewell Bears: at Town Hall Hotel, from 4 pm to 8 pm. Free event.
History of the Harbour City Bears (HCB)’s Bear Essentials (BE) Theme over the years:
Looking at the history of the previous Bear Essentials themes, here is the listing of them:
| Year: | Number: | Theme: |
| 1997 | 1 | No Theme |
| 1998 | 2 | No Theme |
| 1999 | 3 | No Theme |
| 2000 | 4 | No Theme |
| 2001 | 5 | 2001 – A Bear Odyssey |
| 2002 | 6 | One More Lap |
| 2003 | 7 | 7 Deadly Sins |
| 2004 | 8 | 8 is Never Enough |
| 2005 | 9 | Urus Maximus |
| 2006 | 10 | 10 Commandments |
| 2007 | 11 | Steel |
| 2008 | 12 | Undern Southern Stars |
| 2009 | 13 | United Bear Tales |
| 2010 | 14 | Between the Flags |
| 2011 | 15 | It’s a Bear’s World |
| 2012 | 16 | It’s a Whole New Ball Game |
| 2013 | 17 | Get Your Bear On |
| 2014 | 18 | Beartropolis |
| 2015 | 19 | Fifty Shades of Bears |
| 2016 | 20 | Platinum Edition |
| 2017 | 21 | Our Coming of Age |
| 2018 | 22 | Wet |
| 2019 | 23 | Homo Bearectus |
| 2020 | 24 | 12″ Remix |
| 2021 | 25 | Silver Jubearlee |
| 2022 | 26 | High Visbility Body Positivity |
| 2023 | 27 | United Bears of Australiasia |
| 2024 | 28 | Bear Spectrum |
| 2025 | 29 | Free to Bee |
| 2026 | 30 | Cruising |
Fun Fact – The Bear Essentials Game – not created by the Harbour City Bears:
While researching and writing this article, I came across a 2016 game called “The Bear Essentials”. If you want to play this retro queer bear game, here is the link: [CSDb] – The Bear Essentials by Pond (2016).
Special Thanks:
I would like to thank Scott Ridley, current President of the Harbour City Bears (2024 – current), for his assistance with HCB BE Themes over the years in a timely manner and for reviewing this article.
I would like to thank my fabulous boss, Richard Jones, co-founder of Bear World Magazine, for his support with bringing more Australian content, since I started back in March 2025, including highlighting the HCB.
