Buffalo Bears: About Us

Q: Who Are We?

A: The Buffalo Bears Club, a non-profit organization, was founded in the summer of 1999. We are a social club for self-described bears and their admirers. We meet together every second Saturday in Buffalo at 10pm at OHM UltraLounge, located at 948 Main St. With monitored Parking conviently located across from the bar. Guests are more than welcomed to attend our meetings and immediately following, we host our monthly Bear Bar Night.

Q: Wait a minute.
What the heck is a bear anyway?

A: Allow us to explain.

The bear movement was established several years ago when many gay men felt alienated by the stereotypical prototypes of what was considered attractive to gay men.

In general, a bear is someone who is masculine and friendly . Bears can be large or small, Cubs. They usually celebrate their masculinity by showing off their body hair, and often like to grow facial hair.

There has been a great deal of controversy on how to classify a bear or a cub. A good source of information on this can be found HERE!!

Q: What kinds of things does your club do?

A: We host social events of interest to our members. Past events include but are not limited to our monthly Bear Nights, Bear Camping, Coffee Nights, Game Nights, Group "field trips", LaserTron, Movie Nights, Oscar Night, Picnics, bowling and potluck Dinners. Check out some pictures HERE!!

We occasionally hold fundraisers to support the WNY community, but the main objective of the club is to meet new people and have a little fun.

Q: That's a nice philosophy, but I went to your club's Bear Night how come nobody came over to talk to me?

A: Your feeling is not uncommon - ask any of the people who joined us in the past couple years. Many guys felt the same way too the first time they came out to our bar night, and here are some possible reasons why:

1.	No one knew you. It takes a special motivation to go introduce yourself to a stranger; it is hard for you, and its hard for everyone else. It's much easier to converse with familiar faces than unfamiliar ones.

2.	People were busy catching up with friends and having fun. After all, that's what its all about, isn't it?

3.	No one knew you wanted to talk to anyone ; no one was aware you were too shy to say hello.

4.	You may have appeared "unapproachable." Sometimes, even very handsome men spend the evening in the corner because others got the feeling that they wanted to be left alone, when the truth is, they were dying to talk to anyone.

Here are some pointers for you in any such situation:

1.	Contact a member before coming and let them know you are coming, and they can introduce you to others.

2.	Attend one of our general meetings at 10pm at OHM. Get there a few minutes before hand and introduce yourself to one of the board members. This is a great ice breaker!

3.	Be prepared for a social situation. In other words, conversation is a two way street. If you don't have anything to say, chances are, people will walk away from you very quickly.

4.	Remember that others have had the same difficulty getting to know others, and the more familiar your face, the easier it gets!

5.	Bear Nights get very crowded, and many of the people who come are not members of the club . Many club members like to wear their name tags to make it easier for other's to approach them. Look for these folks and they would be happy to help you get acquainted with others.

JOIN NOW

We currently have over 70 members...

Download the PDF document to renew or join

Drop us a line at

info@buffalobears.org

Snail Mail

Buffalo Bears
P.O. Box 622, Ellicott Station
Buffalo, New York 14205-0622

RELAX!!

If we were to create some strict definition of what a bear is, or is not, it will only serve as a way to exclude others. The whole idea of the bear movement is to tear down the stereotypes, not to create new ones. To be a bear is to embrace diversity!

We hope this is helpful...

We would hate to have you miss out on a lot of good times because of first impressions. Please be aware that some of the people in the group have known each other for years, so their familiarity can be a little intimidating.