World Bear Weekend to Host ‘Bear Sync Battle’, a Benefit for Pineapple Healthcare
World Bear Weekend is just one week away! And in addition to all the themed dance parties, workshops and World Bear competition, there will be an extra special event organized by our very own Bear World Icon Ali Lopez called the ‘Bear Sync Battle’.
Ali will be working with his friend Thomas Jordan on the event which will benefit Pineapple Healthcare and will be patterned after LL Cool J’s Lip Sync Battle where contestants will compete by lip syncing to songs they preselected off a provided list. Each participant was instructed to select two songs, one to perform and a back up option in case of a tie. As they are performing the contestants are free to collect tips from the crowd, 100% of which will go to benefit the charity.
Pineapple Healthcare, the charity in question, is an all-encompassing medical practice that aims to serve as a one-stop -shop for evidence-based, progressive treatment for the Orlando LGBTQ+ community. The primary care practice provides comprehensive gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy, behavioral health, and medical services. The practice also offers testing and treatment for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Additionally, the team of HIV/AIDS care specialists provides pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for patients at high risk of contracting HIV through sexual contact or drug use. The diverse Pineapple Healthcare team aims to make health care more accessible and affordable to as many people as possible, offering cost-reduction programs and telehealth appointments. And with the state of affairs in Florida right now, it is a great organization to support our queer family still living down there and it is why Ali selected it to be the beneficiary of the Bear Sync Battle. You can send them a donation HERE.
The Bear Sync Battle contestants will be judged by a panel of notable judges from within the bear community including J Tebias Perry, Sunny Haynes, Kevin Michael Oconnell, and our own editor in chief, John Hernandez. They will be judging contestants on the strength of their performance, their interaction with the crowd and their wardrobe. In the case of a tie, participants will go into a Bear Sync Battle of which the winner will be awarded two passes to World Bear Weekend 2024.
As the contestants are working the audience, volunteers will be selling raffle tickets for wonderful prizes: leather gear from Wolfstryker Leather, a harness from Dirty South Leather, a Gift certificate for $100.00 from Cockeye Kink Gear, a bracelet by Majere’s Metals and much more! Again,100% of the proceeds collected will go to Pineapple Healthcare.
The event will also have two guest performances by the founder of Haunters against Hate, Paul Lanner and the incomparable Panda Bear himself, WBW Cub ’22 Alika Keawekane!
So, if you’re attending World Bear Weekend be sure to set aside some time for this wonderful event taking place at 9:30 PM on Saturday night, September 23rd, right after the World Bear Competition finale and right before the Socks & Jocks Dance Party. And if you aren’t attended World Bear Weekend this year you can still help out by sending a donation to Pineapple Healthcare HERE.
