Northern Exposure 2014

Welcome Hi men and welcome to NEX2014. Northern Exposure or (NEX) as it’s known is Queensland’s premier bear festival which attracts bears, cubs, chubs, otters, twubs and their admirers from Queensland and afar to celebrate masculinity and friendship through socialisation. The festival is managed by the Brisbears Social Club committeemen and a dedicated team of volunteers who give their time to ensure a smooth, professional and an unforgettable event. This year will see Brisbears celebrate the 14th consecutive year of Northern Exposure. This year the sub committee is focusing on four core values of our bear community; To promote and practice equality and acceptance within our diverse community To be kind to one another and enjoy the company of other men with similar interests To provide a safe and fun packed space for the men in our community to come together and celebrate mateship To raise funds to support other GLBTI community groups in the Queensland community NEX2014 will be supporting The Queensland Aids Council, The Gay and Lesbian Welfare Association and Rainbow OK Foundation as beneficiaries from our fundraising efforts. Queensland Aids Council is a proud supporter of Brisbears and they will be running the cloak room at ‘Underbear NEX2014′ and will keep the funds to put towards peer education and health promotion campaigns for gay men. www.quac.org.au The Gay and Lesbian Welfare Association (GLWA) is a non-profit organisation with a focus on the well-being of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities through the operation of the a Gay helpline and Lesbian helpline, peer telephone counselling service. www.glwa.org.au The Rainbow OK Foundation is a relatively new group of volunteers who have formed to promote awareness and fight against suicide and self harm within our community. brisbanerainbowok.weebly.com Brisbears Social Club will also be acknowledging the commitment of volunteers within our community through the introduction of the Shaune Hunt Memorial Volunteering Award of Excellence. This will be awarded at the Mr Bear Queensland event at Northern Exposure. Mr Shaune Hunt and his long time partner Wayne, are Brisbears members and sadly Shaune passed suddenly earlier this year whilst overseas. Shaune dedicated many years of his life helping others and the committee would like to wish Wayne all the best. We hope that knowing that the award in Shaune’s memory will be keeping Shaune’s passion of volunteering and helping others as a living memory of this kind and generous man. I hope that this years NEX Festival is a time to bring our members and friends together to party and enjoy the fantastic events that the subcommittee will be providing for you during October 16 – 19 2014. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Brisbears volunteer management committee, the NEX2014 sub-committee and all the volunteers who are helping with this mammoth effort. A huge thanks to our sponsors, especially Qnews and The Sportsman Hotel. We look forward to working with you through the lead up and the duration of the festival. Bear men of Queensland, please support your social club, gather your friends and pick yourselves up one of our great value packs for Northern Exposure 2014, it’s going to be a hoot! Yours kindly, Vince Siciliani President Brisbears