PHOTOS: Bears, otters, and cubs strip down to their pelts at Provincetown Bear Week

Bears, wolves, cubs, otters, and their admirers spent a furry and fabulous week in Provincetown, MA for Provincetown Bear Week, July 8-15, 2023. One of the largest celebrations for the Bear community in the world, Ptown Bear Week was filled with live entertainment, dance nights, BBQs, pool parties, and more. 

In 2001 historian and local resident John Burrows founded the Provincetown Bears and Provincetown Bear Week. What started as a gathering of a few hundred grew to an annual event attracting over 10,000 people. John Burrows was a lifelong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and causes and was integral to Bear Week’s success.

John passed away in May of this year, and the Provincetown Business Guild and the Crown & Anchor along with Bearmania, Red Room, and other Provincetown venues and businesses continued John’s legacy.

Bear Week events included the Otter Pop Pool Party featuring DJ TDon and go-go otters, BEACH(ED) – the Crown & Anchor’s first Bear Week Beach Party – featuring DJ GSP and hosted by Big Dipper, the annual Weiner Roast and Pool Party at the Brass Key Guest House hosted by Eureka O’Hara, the annual, and always hot, Firemen’s Ball and the Bear Vendor Fair: Bear Market.