A beauty pageant for imposing hairy gentlemen? Why not?
The traditional misses, or old-fashioned carnival duchesses, considered backwards seem to have been phased out, at least in Quebec… and some say: good riddance!
But new types of more topical competitions are emerging.
The funniest of them as far as I know is the Monsieur Ours Montreal contest which will be held on Saturday April 8th at the Campus Bar (usually a dance club) in front of 350 people.
What do you mean by a bear?
A bear, in the homosexual community, is a generally bearded, imposing, sometimes healthy male, for which reason his appearance is reminiscent of the famous Plantigrade.
The stronger ones are called grizzlies; and the thinnest, otters.
There is a community in Montreal called Ourse (often called Bear due to the English translation) which has its bars, including L’Aigle noir, and its shops. Several foreigners move to the metropolis to lead a peaceful existence as bears.
Poster provided by Bear-It-Mtl
The competition poster, which will be on display at the Campus Bar in the Village on April 8th, sets the tone: We don’t take ourselves seriously!
“When I arrived in Montreal, I really accepted myself as a bear and within the bear community,” says Bruce Verdy, 33, an immigrant from France a year and a half ago who is one of the four candidates for the 2023 release.
“When I was traveling a few years ago, I visited the bear bars of Montreal and that opened up a lot of things for me,” explains this assistant technical director of the Saint Denis Theater.
hibernation completed
After hibernating during the cold months, the bears awaken from their seasonal torpor to nominate their Mr. Bear Montreal 2023. He will need to use his crown (made of leather, of course) to help his community and society.
A native of New Brunswick, the 61-year-old father of bears, CHSLD manager, a grandfather with six grandchildren named Jean-Yves Martin, will be the eldest of the candidates.
Ontario-born cub, 28-year-old clinical nurse at Cactus, Chris Thompson, will be the youngest.
If he becomes Mr. Bear, Mr. Martin wants his message to focus on the importance of “accepting yourself for who you are.”
Photo provided by Pierre-Luc Montpetit
I interview Mr. Ours Montreal 2019 who has been “stuck” in his role for the past three years due to pandemic cancellations and can’t wait to hand his scarf over to the next one.
Mr. Thompson would use his status to better educate his community about sexual health, the use of naloxone to treat opioid overdoses and speak out on the dangers of xylazine, nicknamed the zombie drug.
The fourth contestant, Pierre-Luc Veilleux, 43, one of the owners of the craft beer shop Tite Frette in the Village, is entering the competition to dare to fully embrace his hair and body, which have long complexed him .
The jury consists of a professional drag queen (Chouchoune), a well-known bartender in the Village (Marc-André Caron), a vice president of Montreal Pride (Jean-Sébastien Boudreault), the holder of the title Monsieur Puppy Montreal (who uses his canine alias Titan will use) and a journalist, in this case me!
“We don’t take ourselves seriously, the goal is to have fun, to bring people together,” says organizer Nicolas Wegel.
“Anyone can participate, not just bears,” he adds.
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