Registration Closed for 2008! Quick Notes to read
July 25 July 2008 11:59pm

Contests!
Just a quick heads up about the weekend long contests we will be having during MBM and the points system that will be used. We opted not to have a bear, cub, daddy contest this year in hopes of getting more people to compete in these southern style games, sorry to the folks that might have been looking forward to that. Starting Friday with our favorite past time, Bears with balls (aka Bowling), and following through the day on Saturday are the MBM Hillbilly Games. Friday night starts with Lube Wrestling, followed by events on Saturday such as the Hillbilly Horseshoes, 3 legged race, Scavenger Hunt, Corn Hole Toss, Cuke swallowing, mechanical bull rides, and lastly the bear-pig roundup. Some games you can guess by name, others are just as fun as they sound. Trust us.

For each of these events some will have prizes, but all will award Paw Points that goes towards our overall winners of the weekend. Each participant gets 5 Paw Points for each event they compete in regardless of final placement. Participants in Lube Wrestling, Scavenger Hunt, and the Mechanical Bull ride will receive 10 points for each competition regardless of placement.

For each event there will be 3 places that are awarded points: 1st - 50 Paw Points 2nd - 35 Paw Points 3rd - 15 Paw Points Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 contestants with the highest Paw Points after all contests are completed. Winners will be announced at the Saturday Night Dinner. But wait.. there's another way to get Paw Points.. read below.

Charitable Causes
This year our two charities that will benefit from your generosity are the Council of Community Services and the South Western Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank. The Council of Community Services provides informational packets complete with condoms and brochures on safe sex as well as providing free on site AIDS testing. Profits from the Silent Auction will go to help this organization continue to provide vital testing and support for the community. Please visit http://www.councilofcommunityservices.org to learn more.

South Western Virginia Second Harvest is part of the nationwide Second Harvest food banks that supply desperately needed food to individuals in dire situations. Currently there is a nationwide shortage of supplies and everyone's help is needed. We know a lot of you are driving in, so please look through your cabinets for any unwanted non-perishable foods that are still in date and bring them in to help the needy. Please visit http://www.swvafoodbank.org/ to learn more. *To help increase participation, for each item of food donated to Second Harvest, the donator will get 1 paw point up to a max of 20.

Saturday Night Dance
We are getting lots of questions of whether or not the dance on Saturday night is in fact a underwear party like last year. It is, and it isn't. Guests can come in their bibs, skivvies, daisy dukes, jeans, underwear, shorts, whatever.. except just a jock strap. Again due to VA Alcoholic Beverage Laws we have to abide by, your sweet luscious bare ass can't be showin' nor can Mr. Happy be unfurled out of your pants. So for those who are uncomfortable with being in just your underwear, start with shorts and take em' off if you get comfortable.

Clubs!
We have quite a diverse group of men coming from bear clubs across the US and Canada. If your club would like to hang a banner on the grounds of the event please bring them with you. Please see the guys at registration when you arrive about where and when to hang your banners. If you have literature you would like to have in the run bag please contact us ASAP to arrange this process. Thanks.

Host Hotel Sold Out Thursday - Sat!
July 25 July 2008 11:59pm

WOW! Another milestone in the MBM history books. We went from about 60 showing up on Thursday last year followed by the rest on Friday, to selling out the entire hotel on Thursday through Saturday. Thanks everyone for making MBM a part of your travels this year.

For those of you who have rooms outside of the host hotel or don't have a room at all we are going to offer a one time service for those that have registered and paid. We will be sending out an email this weekend with info on how to submit to us if you "have" a room at the host hotel and are looking for a roommate or if you are "looking" to be a roommate to someone in the host hotel. Keep a look out for that email coming to you shortly.

Hugs and tugs!

Time is running out to register!
Monday 14 July 2008 11:35am

Registration ends August 6th! Let everyone you know that is contemplating coming to the event to register asap. Once registration closes.. no more packages will be sold!

Good to know is that Roanoke is in most cases less than a tank of gas from D.C., Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and upper South Carolina, even parts of Pennsylvania can make it here on just a tank of gas.

We've picked up some great new sponsors and advertisers for the event. Last week we traversed the downtown area finding new clues and riddles for the scavenger hunt. It's going to be great fun.

Well there's more emails to send out and things to do so I must log off for now. Stay safe and keep checking here for more info to be announced.

Hugs and tugs!

Host Hotel SOLD OUT! Late Registration started!
Tuesday 1 July 2008 12:24 am

In case you missed the information box on the front of the site, the host hotel is SOLD OUT for Friday and Saturday. We have at this writing about 10 rooms left for Thursday night. It's amazing at the difference of attendees arriving early this year. We're super excited!! For those of you who have registered a room and are looking for a roommate, please contact us and let us know if you wouldn't mind having your contact info (email or screen name) added to an upcoming email to all registered attendees to find a roomie. You can also use the roommate finder on the hotel information page.

We have TWO overflow hotels now. The La Quinta Inn is on the same property as the Quality Inn and is within walking difference. We were only able to block 35 rooms at this property due to previous bookings. So to help with registrants who need rooms, we have blocked 50 more rooms at a Days Inn that is not within walking distance. This hotel is 1.5 miles down the road (about a two minute drive?). The Days Inn info has been added to the hotel info page.

So I thought I would address some concerns i've been asked about online for the fine folks who have never attended a bear run before. As you may all be aware, until last year, there had never been an event like this in good ol' Virginia. Lots of the locals still have no idea what the hell a bear run is and what goes on. So let's address a few questions shall we.

1) No a bear run is not an all out orgy. While we cannot account for what goes on in guests rooms, you are not gonna walk into the lobby and find a mound of bears fucking and sucking each other. It just doesn't happen. Yes you may see some heavy petting and maybe at some of the other runs it may get a little crazy, but all in all you're just going to see handsome men having fun and enjoying one anothers company in some form or another.

2) You are not guaranteed to have sex if you buy a run package. Our job is to create an incredible weekend event that will bring men in from all parts of the world so that you can do that thing you do. If you get laid... you did good. If you didn't, come back and try harder.

3) I'm concerned I may be to heavy or too old or not hairy enough. Come anyway! The bear community does not discriminate against any of these assets or others. Some of us like our bears big (that's me), some like em smooth, some are looking for a daddy. Don't ever discount your qualities of who you are. Just come, relax, be yourself, and don't be afraid to speak to a stranger.

4) I'm shy and no one will speak to me. Coming to an event such as Mountain Bear Madness is a big step in the right direction. I will admit that at my first bear run, Bear pride in Chicago 1997, I was completely overwhelmed. But along the way I picked up a few tips on what to do and to understand the sometimes subtleties of peoples intentions. First thing is never get yourself into a corner or stay far away from the crowds. If your nervous about speaking to anyone.. at least put yourself into the situation for someone to possibly speak to you. If someone smiles, smile back. Let go and say hello to that guy you've been eyeballing. There comes a certain level of bravery to even attend an event such as this if you've never been to one but don't be scared to stick your hand out to say hi or give someone a hug. The bear community is a very friendly and accepting place.

5) I don't understand why I have to buy a run package even though I live just down the road. Ahh.. the best question of all. Just because I live in the same town as the civic center doesn't mean they let me in for concerts for free now does it? Mountain Bear Madness and all other bear runs cost thousands of dollars to put on. This year we have upped the quantity and quality of food and free drinks that you get for your run costs as well as host a few other activities that weren't on the bill last year. Making sure that all attendees at the event have paid for their packages makes it fair for everyone. When someone sneaks in and gets the amenities that the other fine folks have paid for, that's on the same level as stealing from the other guests. MBM is a private party and guests who are found on the premesis without their event pass will be asked to leave. Don't be that guy. Register, you'll be glad you did. :)

Look for upcoming emails to registered guests with more information about the run and tips to make your weekend with us a safe and fun one.

Woofs!

Host Hotel Almost SOLD OUT!
Thursday 19 June 2008 6:02am

Procrastinators Unite TODAY! As of this writing there are only 7 rooms left at the host hotel. Never fear, we have 30+ rooms reserved in our overflow hotel that is just a short walk from the host hotel. Registration is still going well, lots of people not reading the disclaimers about Pop up blockers. Curse the internet for its annoying advertising schemes that cause people to have to run these programs. Oh well.

Sponsorship and advertising information has been updated. The fine woofy fellas over at Bear Films have sponsored us again this year, be sure to check them out at www.bearfilms.com. If your company or business would like to sponsor MBM or advertise at the event be sure to check out those pages for more information, and of course contact us if you have questions.

That's all for now.. REGISTER and TELL YOUR FRIENDS to come to this amazing event. It's going to be awesome. :)

Hugs and tugs!

Hotel Code Look up added
Tuesday 03 June 2008 11:00pm

Our wonderful coder has added a new feature to the site that will allow you to look up your hotel code if for some reason you did not receive the emails that were sent out on the Sunday evening following your registration finalization (meaning you registered and paid and we got your money). This feature was put into place to help out our guests who use AOL and Yahoo email and those who might have just overlooked the original emails.

I must log now to get ready as I finish packing to head down to Orlando for Gay Days and the wonderful Tidal Waves party.

Woofs to everyone and we'll see you soon.

General Updated Information
Thursday 29 May 2008 2:43am

So... the automated blog went away. Just to much of a pain in the ass to manage all the spam from robots. So much for allowing anonymous comments! :p

Things are moving right along with registration and meetings. We had a great last meeting about a week ago and finalized a lot of items. The events schedule is 99% solid. The meals have been planned and contracts signed with all of the caterers. Food is going to be Y-U-M-M-Y!

We're going for a bit more physical activities this year, but safety is our #1 concern as well as planning events that everyone can do. Lube wrestling should be a riot.. even the clean up afterwards is going to be HOT!. If you happened to gander at the new schedule of events we are bringing in.. yes we're doing it.. a mechanical bull! OMG How much fun is that going to be!! The bull will of course be totally safe and fun and if you fall off (which I'm sure most will) you will land on a nicely padded inflatable cushion. I can't wait!

In May we attended the great Bear Hunt event at Myrtle Beach which was hosted by our brothers in the Carolina Bear Lodge (wave). It was so great to see everyone there and hear people commenting on how much fun they had at MBM last year. Big thanks to CBL for letting us advertise our event there. Great job as always! Hugs!!

Fun Fact: Registration has almost reached last years mark and 85% of the registered attendees will be arriving on Thursday!!

Well it's almost 3am and I must get on to fixing more websites.. so bye for now.

Woofs!

MBM 3rd Meeting
Monday 11 February 2008 1:43am

Meeting 3 went well. Despite missing Lost (thank god for DVR's) we nailed down a schedule of events, vendor info, sponsorship info, and some of the contests we plan to do. The schedule of events and vendor pages have been updated. Check them out if you haven't already.

Registration has been open for 11 days and we are all amazed at how well it's going this year as opposed to last year. We have had some problems with web browsers not allowing the pop up window for the Paypal payment page, so new instructions have been added to the top of the site. If you know someone who has been having that problem, please help them out. :)

Thanks to the great work from myself (shameless pat on the back) and our VP Ken for putting together an incredible admin area for the registration area. It's working pretty flawlessly and provides great input to the rest of the team working the event. 95% of the registrants so far have stated they plan to arrive Thursday! We are close to topping the amount of Thursday bears as we had last year. Good times are a coming!

Thanks to all of the guys who are helping spread the word about the event. If you know someone who wasn't here last year, tell them about it and invite them down/across/up/over. That's all for now... more to come.

Registration Now Open!!!
Monday 4 February 2008 5:55am

The excitement is in the air! People are talking and the buzz is aplenty about this years event. As of February 1st registration is now open. Thanks to everyone that submitted issues to us about the registration process. Seems we were having some problems with people inputting phone numbers and the website saying NO. We smacked it around some and it's happy now. :) Big thanks to Ken for all his hard work.

If anyone comes across any problems, please use the contact us page to let us know so we can jump on it asap!

Meeting 3 is this coming Thursday. I have already started design work on the scavenger hunt and the run booklet. I'm thinking like a bbq dinner menu. You know the whole red checkerboard cloth look. Have some bbq sauce splattered on the pages. Meh. It's almost 6am and I must hit the bed. Keep checking in on the blog and feel free to comment.

Woofs!

MBM Meeting #2
Monday 7 January 2008 3:50am

Ok last meeting was a basically a throwout. Got the full group together and looked at what was happening in the bear scene. We are determined to not have an event the same weekend as another group (last year we unknowingly booked the same weekend as the Music City Bears event - sorry guys!!). So move the date we did. August 21st -24th is the final date. Two weeks before us is Bear Invasion (D.C.) and one week behind us is Bear Jam.

Theme. Last year we had pitched the idea around about having a country theme/borderline redneck. All we kept thinking about was (lucky) Ned Beatty bent over that log in the movie Deliverance, and the now famous lines of "Squeal like a pig!". Every time we brought it up we laughed. We scrapped it for fears of advertising etc. This year.. it's on! Mountain Bear Madness : Squeel like a pig is our theme. What better way to go with a pig theme than to serve it, so one of the catered dinners will be a full on BBQ meal with all the fixins' etc. Still working on what night.. but count on some finger licking bbq. The full meal menu's are still being worked on.

Contests. Last year the Bear/Cub/Daddy contest was good, but too long. This year we want to have more contests that don't require you to strut your stuff but to have fun. More on this to come...

MBM Meeting #1
Wednesday 7 November 2007 6:17am

After a few months of recuperation from MBM 2007, we all head back to the meeting den to go through what we did right and what we did wrong. Seeing as it was our first bear event, we were all very proud of accomplishing 90% of what we had originally set out to do for the event.

Meeting was short and sweet. Several members were not in attendance (out partying). We tentatively set a date for labor day weekend. See our problem with setting up an event date is compounded by this little school up the road and their football team. If VT has a home football game... we can't get exclusivity of the hotel and the room rates go up. So... labor day is the iffy date. We'll pass it around and ask the other clubs their dates etc so we don't conflict.

Talks of themes etc went so so. I wanted a big toga party, lube wrestling etc, others thought of an Olympic event, Greek, and there was even talks of a big top tent and a circus theme. More on this later...