Harbour City Bears is famous for its festival, "Bear Essentials™", held every year in February/March during the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras - it’s Australia's largest gay festival for bears and cubs.

Bear Essentials™ is an opportunity to get to know local, interstate and international bears, cubs and admirers. It's a way of participating in our community and it's a lot of fun.

If you've been to a Bear Essentials™ "run" before, you'll already know what to expect!

Many local Sydneysiders take the whole week off work just so they can attend all the Bear Essentials™ events, or hook up with international travellers visiting Sydney. Of course, a few of us take a few extra days as well, because we need to recover!

Bear Essentials™ has been running for over 20 years, and each year we aim to send our guests home with a smile on their faces.