PEORIA — The River City Bears (RCB), based in Peoria Illinois, will be holding its first Mr. Central Illinois Bear Contest this fall. The contest, to be held Oc. 28-29 is the first for the area and the club.
“We felt that the contest was a great idea to try to bring the bear community in Central Illinois together.” states Mark Lasswell, President of the RCB. “Our original plan was to hold the contest on separate evenings in Peoria, Bloomington, and Springfield, but we felt that it was a little too ambitious for our first contest so it was scaled back to two evenings in Peoria.”
The contest is open to anyone who identifies as a bear and must be at least 21 years old. You can register online or print out the entry form and mail it. There is a $20 registration fee and after October 20th there is an additional $10 late fee.
The first evening will be held at Beer 30, 2422 N Knoxville Ave, Peoria on Friday October 28th at 8pm. This evening will consist of the Runway events of Jean & Boot Strut and Boxer / Boxer Briefs & Tshirts.
The final evening will be held at Sparky’s Ringside Bar & Grill, 914 N Wisconsin Ave, Peoria on Saturday October 29th at 8pm. This evening lineup includes the Big Bear Lip-sync and the Non-Profit Funding Competition. Contestants will raise money from the time they enter the contest, through the end of this evening. The money each contestant raises will be counted during this round and all money collected will be sent to the charity chosen by the contestant.
The winners will be announced on the final evening of the contest with awards for First Place $150, Second $100, and Third $75.
“We hope to make this an annual event and we are always looking for new club members that would like to plan and help with our activities.” said Mark. “We really want to bring the bears in Central Illinois together with great social opportunities and fundraising for our LGBT+ Community”
For more information and to register online go the RCB website, www.rivercitybears.org.
via press release