Provincetown Bears

04/02/2020

Announcement of Suspension of Bear Week Provincetown 2020

Provincetown Bears is saddened to announce the suspension of Bear Week Provincetown 2020. Members of our board have watched the rampant developments of the coronavirus pandemic and we believe that it is not advisable for us to host the crowded parties this summer that are the hallmark of Bear Week. Although we are suspending the events scheduled for Bear Week, our friends and neighbors in Ptown have asked us to say that local business owners, entertainers, lodging keepers, and the managers, chiefs and staff at your favorite restaurants and bars look forward to offering all that Provincetown is famous for when they open for the season. Provincetown Bears cares deeply about the health and safety of our Bear community. We hope to see you again in Provincetown for Bear Week next year.

Dates for Bear Week Provincetown 2021 are July 10 to 18, 2021.

Bear Week Registrations will be refunded. We appreciate your patience as it may take a few weeks to process all the refunds.

Lodging Reservations: Some Provincetown guest houses, hotels, and rental owners have offered to roll over deposits to next year. If it is possible to do this it will be a great help for these small businesses to help them through a difficult year. Provincetown Bears does not have a role in room reservations, but we can alert local tourism groups to problems that arise. Consumer complaints can also be reported to the state office of Attorney General Maura Healey (search on state web site www.mass.gov). Massachusetts consumer complaint hotline is 617-727-8400.

John Burrows, director of Provincetown Bears

03/21/2020

“Life is changing in unimaginable ways for weeks if not months to come” David Muir, ABC News, 3/20/2020

Provincetown Bears is assessing information before making a decision on Bear Week Provincetown 2020. We are closely following discussions of a task force comprised of Provincetown town officials, tourism directors, and local business owners. And we will follow advisories of Provincetown, Barnstable County, and Massachusetts public health authorities in making our decisions for the future of our event this July.

Provincetown is a resilient community but has limited local health care available and can not handle an influx of tourists if the health crisis continues into the summer. The local economy is also extremely seasonal and financial stability is tenuous for most businesses, restaurants, and hospitality providers. When the health crisis is contained it will be important for Provincetown to welcome tourists back and they will need our support for this unique community to survive as an LGBT resort. We hope this will be in 2020, and if not, Bear Week will return in 2021.

Provincetown Bears understands anxiety among attendees about the upcoming season and we appreciate that every one will need to make their own decisions about their own plans. If the extraordinary self-isolation efforts this spring are successful in controlling spread of the coronavirus, and if by early summer the ferries, guest houses and hotels, and restaurants are open to tourists, it is our hope to host our friends back to Ptown for Bear week, with the event modified as necessary.

We have heard from many past attendees that they hope to keep their plans for this summer, and we will keep people apprised of the situation as time gets closer.

Authentic information will be posted by me, or by Team Bears, on these Facebook sites: Bear Week in Provincetown, and 2020 Bear Week Ptown – Official 20th Anniversary Group.

From John Burrows, founder and director of Bear Week Provincetown

05/18/2019

Deadline is approaching to the May 31 closing of registration for event passes to Bear Week Provincetown 2019.
Registration includes T-Dance passes for the Boatslip, dog-tag entry to the A-House dance club, co-hosted nights at the Crown & Anchor and Ptown Bear’s produced night at the Boatslip (see event schedule for details: http://schedule.ptownbears.org.) Bear Week registration also brings discounts from shops, services and restaurants in town. And there are two sponsored breakfasts and the opening BBQ pool party at the Ptown Inn. Registration options are for the full week or either weekend. https://bearweekptown2019.eventbee.com

01/11/2019

Bear Week Provincetown is a bit hard to characterize. Our host community has been an LGBT vacation destination since the late 1800s and the annual assembly of Bears is warmly welcomed. There are hipster bears, muscle bears, leather bears, old-school bears, and glitter bears: our anual gather is a broad mix of thousands of large hairy gay men in a town filled with artists and drag queens. "There is no contest." Events range from dance parties with world-renounded DJs to hikes in the adjacent national park and a pancake breakfast. This album of photographs from 2018 is a snapshot of many sights of Bear Week Provincetown.

01/11/2019

Provincetown Bears photographs

01/01/2019

Registration for Bear Week Provincetown 2019 is now open: www.bearweekptown2019.eventbee.com/

12/13/2018

Seasons Greetings from Provincetown Bears. Registration for Bear Week Ptown 2019 opens in January - details coming soon.

07/04/2018

Pick up the 'Bear Book' full event schedule at the Bear Week Info Booth, 256 Commercial St., daily from 11 am - 4 pm, and buy a wrist band pass for the two Fundraising Balls on Friday night (if you did not register): the Fireman's Ball at the Crown & Anchor, and the Uniform Ball at the Atlantic House. On-line schedule:

05/27/2018

Register for the official Bear Week event package ends May 31st. It includes passes to Tea Dance, passes or discounts to many club nights, a BBQ lunch and two breakfasts hosted by Ptown Bears, and discounts to local restaurants and shops. Registration closes May 31st.
Photos are from the Jack Daniels photo booth at the Ptown Inn BBQ lunch last summer.

12 Masonic Place - Provincetown