Day: July 23, 2015

Brighton Bear Weekender (BBWE) raise record £5453 for the Rainbow Fund from fourteen events for bears and their admirers over the 3rd weekend in June.

It was a record-breaking year for Brighton Bear Weekender (BBWE) 2015 with more events on offer than previous years, bringing more visitors to the city and more fun all round for everyone to enjoy.

This year BBWE exceeded all expectations, raising a fabulous £5653 for their chosen charity, the Rainbow Fund. The total includes two large donations from Steve Lee at Subline who donated £750 to acknowledge the business generated by the BBWE events at Subline over the weekend and Andy Tull, owner of the Market Tavern who made a personal donation of £250.

BBWE is run by a committee of volunteers who work all year round to produce a great weekend in Brighton for bear communities around the world and raise money for local LGBT and HIV organisations.

Terry Shaw aka Mysterry Drag Queen (far right in the photo above) is stepping down from the committee to fully concentrate on his blossoming entertainment career and business Glamtastic Hairdos. The committee fully support his decision and know both ventures will be a huge success.

A spokesperson for BBWE said: “Naturally the biggest and greatest thank you goes to all the wonderful bears, cub, otters and men from across the world who support our group, come to the events and give so generously. If it was not for you guys it would be nothing. Look forward to seeing you all next year for BBWE 2016.”

“BBWE would not happen without the help and support of many people. Firstly I like to thank all the venues and staff who worked the weekend and throughout the year to give us a weekend to remember. To all our volunteers who give us their time for free and without their help the weekend would not run so smoothly as it does or raised as much money.

“Thank you to Barclaycard for giving us free use of one their card machines to use over the weekend. To all the kind and generous businesses and people who donated raffle prizes this year leading to our biggest prize fund ever of over £1000.

“Finally, to all the media companies who support us tirelessly throughout the year especially Gscene Magazine and Radio Reverb.”

The Rainbow Fund is a CIC community company that makes grants to local LGBT/HIV charities and community groups who provide effective front line services to LGBT people in Brighton and Hove.